A Second Chance
by kathyde
Summary: Cal plays a major role as Gillian gets a second chance to be a mother.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Heidi walked into Cal's office after knocking lightly on his door. "There's a call on line five…"

"Whoop de do…," Cal answered sarcastically then looked up at her when he heard her sigh. "Why do I care?"

"The woman refused to talk to anyone but you _and_ she claims it's an emergency…"

"Of course it is," Cal muttered as he continued to watch the computer screen in front of him.

Heidi seemed uncertain. "Should I have Dr. Foster talk to her?"

Knowing Gillian was doing accounting and it always put her in a cranky mood, Cal rolled his eyes and suddenly grinned at Heidi mischievously. "Nah, don't bother Foster, it's probably just my adoring public…"

Since his second book had just recently come out, several calls a day came in from various fans wanting to tell him how much they enjoyed his writing.

Heidi chuckled as she walked away and Cal walked over to his desk and grabbed the phone.

"Yeah?"

"Dr. Lightman?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you the same Dr. Lightman that wrote them books?"

Cal's face showed his impatience. "Yeah, that was me, how can I help you?"

"You still good friends with Gillian Foster?"

Cal frowned at the odd question. "Dr. Foster is my business partner."

"So…is that a yes?"

"Yeah…why?"

"I seen you once before you know…you was the guy that was with her the day they come and took her baby?"

Cal blinked in surprise. Not many people knew the details of that day and he sat down hard in his desk chair as he listened intently to the voice on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I was."

"Cause I remember how close you two was and I was wondering if you was still that close."

Cal was getting agitated with the caller. "Ma'am, can I ask what this is about?"

"I'm getting to that…just needed to make sure I was talkin' with the right person…I'm that baby's meemaw and I was wantin' to speak to you about her."

"Sophie?" Cal gasped.

"Sophie? Is that what you all called her? That's nice…"

Cal swallowed hard as his mind raced. "You said you wanted to talk, should I get Dr. Foster on the line as well?"

"No! No…I want that poor lady left outta of this. I want you to come out and see me by yourself!"

"Look…I think…" Cal started to object.

"Alone!"

"Okay! Whatever you want…I'll come alone."

"Remember your promise…"

"Uh…." Cal hesitated as he jotted down her address when she rattled it off.

Shock was setting in as he struggled to find his voice.

"Mister?"

"Aye, I promise, I'll come alone."

"How quick can you come?"

"Well what day is good for you?"

"Day? Today! You need to come now…"

He thought quickly as he glanced at his watch. "Okay…give me two maybe three hours with traffic."

"Okay, I'll try to wait for you."

"No! Please…I'm leaving right now and I swear I'll be there. Take my cell phone number and if anything happens call me and I'll meet you wherever."

Cal heard the sadness in her voice when she sighed. "I'll do my best," she said as she hung up.

Cal frowned at the unusual call but didn't take the time to dwell on it as he grabbed for his car keys. On his way out the door, he hesitated then ran into his private study to grab a box off the top shelf in his closet. He was coming out of his study when he promptly ran into Gillian.

He was walking so fast that he had to grab for her to steady her so she wouldn't fall back. "Bloody hell, Foster!"

"Did I scare you?" Gillian chuckled as she looked down. The contents of the file folder she had been carrying had scattered around the floor. Her expression changed when she looked back at him. She knew immediately that he was hiding something from her. "Whatever it is you're planning on doing…don't!"

Cal squirmed. "I don't have a choice, Luv."

"You always have a choice, Cal!"

"Not this time…"

"What is it? What are you going to do?"

"Can't tell ya, Foster."

"Cal?!" she questioned angrily.

"I've got to go; I'll talk to ya when I get back."

Cal leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth then squeezed past her. Gillian grabbed his elbow and pulled him around to face her. "I swear Cal; if you do anything stupid…I am so tired of straightening out your messes…"

Cal sighed as he shook his head and faced her. "This time it's not my mess. Look, can you trust me…just this once?" After she snorted derisively, he realized she was furious with him for not telling her where he was going. He took a step towards her so she would have to make eye contact with him. "Please Gillian?"

She saw the plea in his eyes and softened then sighed as she wordlessly nodded.

Cal was filled with relief. After everything he had done recently, she was giving him her trust. He couldn't stop himself from cupping her cheek and hesitating briefly before he kissed her.

When he pulled away, he glanced quickly at her to gauge her reaction before he walked away.

Gillian watched him leave and was filled with conflicting emotions. She stood for several minutes then finally smiled widely when she thought about his kiss. She almost skipped back to her office to wait for him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As Cal drove, he let his mind wander back to the day Sophie was taken from Gillian.

 _He had been driving home from dropping Emily off at Zoe's house when his cell phone rang._

" _Cal?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Can you come now?!"_

 _Cal frowned at the desperation in his partner's voice. "Sure, what's up, Foster? What's going on?"_

" _Just come to my house, please!"_

" _On my way, Luv!"_

 _Cal blinked in surprise when the phone suddenly went dead. He made a quick u-turn and raced to her house. He frowned as he walked up and found Gillian crying hysterically._

" _Foster, what happened?" he asked as he ran from his car to stand in front of her._

 _Gillian handed him a certified letter. "This came in the mail. Three days ago! Alec set it on the table and never opened it…"_

 _Cal frowned as he read the letter. "I don't understand…"_

 _Gillian started to cry harder. "It says Sophie's mom changed her mind. It says they're sending someone to get Sophie and take her back to her real mother today! Today Cal! Someone is on their way right now to take my baby away from me!"_

 _Cal was at a total loss as to what to do. "Where's the hell's Alec?"_

 _Gillian shrugged then her face turned pale as a car pulled up in front of the house. She knew it was someone from social services coming for Sophie and she ran into the house to spend the last few minutes with her daughter._

 _Gillian was rocking Sophie in her arms and overheard Cal questioning the authorities on the validity of the letter. She had always known the birth mother had the right to change her mind but as the impending day loomed closer with no word; Gillian finally let her guard down and truly started enjoying her baby girl. Now, she stood clinging desperately to her as her world crumbled down around her._

 _As the police pulled up in front of her house, Gillian overheard the social worker answer Cal. "Dr. Lightman, if I had a choice I would leave the little girl with your partner but it's my job to follow the law…"_

 _Sophie was gurgling happily in her arms when Gillian opened the door and stood on her porch. "Cal…"_

 _Cal walked to her side and looked at her intently. "What is it, Darling?"_

" _Take Sophie and hand her over."_

" _Gill…" Cal frowned._

 _Gillian squared her shoulders and looked at him pleadingly. "If you do it, it won't seem as if they've taken her away from me."_

" _Gill, I…"_

" _Damn it, Cal! Please…"_

 _Cal swallowed hard as he saw her eyes when he took Sophie in his arms. He turned and comforted a now crying Sophie on his way to the car. The social worker looked at him gratefully and allowed him to put Sophie in her car seat. With a last sympathetic look towards Gillian, the worker climbed in her car and drove away._

 _Cal turned to look for Gillian and saw an empty porch. Seeing that there was not going to be a problem acquiring the child, the police followed the social worker and the street was empty again as Cal walked into her house to find her._

 _Gillian had collapsed just inside the front door and was lying on the floor sobbing hysterically. Cal slid down the wall and sat next to her floor and drew her into his arms._

 _For what seemed like hours, Cal held her until her tears were finally spent._

 _Gillian was huddled against him when she took a shuddering breath. "Thanks for being here," she whispered._

" _It's all right, Luv. Where's Alec?"_

 _Just then a car door slammed and Cal felt Gillian stiffen in his arms. "Home," she said dismissively as she got to her feet and walked into their bathroom._

 _Cal got to his feet as well and looked out the front door to see Alec pacing in the driveway, talking on his cell phone._

 _Cal walked into the living room and started to pick up the baby things scattered around the floor. He turned when the front door opened._

" _Cal?" Alec asked with surprise when he walked into the house._

" _Alec." Cal answered dismissively._

 _Alec frowned when he didn't see Gillian. Cal guessed what he was going to ask and nodded towards the bathroom. "She's in there."_

" _Oh," Alec replied. "So you just came over to pick up Sophie's things?"_

" _No, I'm picking up the pieces of what's left of Sophie," Cal answered sarcastically._

" _What?" Alec asked distractedly._

" _Never mind."_

 _Alec grew disgusted. "So why exactly are you in my home?"_

" _Someone had to do your job," Cal snapped back as he stepped forward and handed him the letter. As Alec glanced at it Cal knew instantly that this wasn't the first time Alec had seen the letter. "You bloody knew…"_

 _Alec couldn't hide his guilt and shrugged. "We both knew it was a possibility."_

" _No…" Cal shook his head. "You_ _ **knew**_ _it was happening today!"_

 _Alec ignored him and opened a bottle of wine. "Are we done here?"_

" _Why weren't you here for her, Alec?" Cal sighed._

" _I'm here now so…you can go."_

 _Cal frowned and glanced at the bathroom door then turned and walked out the door._

Cal was pulled from his thoughts when a sports car veered into his lane then raced ahead. He glanced at the dashboard clock and sighed as he sped up the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Cal pulled up in front of the address that he'd been given. The house was small and had seen better days. It was shabby and in need of serious repairs and he frowned as he got out of the car and walked up the front walk.

He knocked lightly and smiled when an older woman opened the door. "Mrs. Sanders?"

"Yeah and you're that Lightman fellow."

"I am."

"Well, come on in then," she said as she pushed on the door.

Cal walked in and stood in the doorway.

"I don't bite so you don't need to stand in the doorway there, Dr. Lightman."

"Cal, you can call me Cal."

"Good, and Mrs. Sanders is my mother-in-law and she's dead so just call me Isabel, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, well park your butt in a seat there Cal. Can I get ya something to drink? A beer maybe?"

"That'd be great," Cal said, immediately at ease.

She came in and handed him a cold bottle then sat down heavily in a chair.

Cal got his first chance to truly observe her and could tell that she was a very sick woman.

His reaction must've shown on his face because she nodded. "Yeah, ain't gonna be in this world a lot longer…"

"I'm sorry," Cal said honestly.

He had taken an immediate liking to her and Isabel could tell he was being truthful. "Thank you but I ain't called you here to talk about me cause my time is just about up…I want to talk to you about little Amy."

"Amy?"

"Amy…Sophie…whatever you want to call her."

"Okay…"

"First I want to know a few things about that Foster couple."

Cal was puzzled and felt really uncomfortable being here without Gillian. "You want me to answer some questions about my partner?"

"Yeah, you all right with that?"

"Not really but …"

"Well…too bad…cause you're gonna do it anyway."

Cal smiled slightly at her straightforward attitude. "Well, then…fire away."

"That Dr. Foster…she still married to that weasel of a husband of hers?"

Her comment was so unexpected, Cal choked on his beer. "No," he coughed then shook his head. "They actually divorced a few months ago."

"Who started it…"

"The divorce?" At her nod, Cal continued. "Um…Gillian did, why?"

Isabel ignored his question as she moved forward. "She don't see him no more? He ain't buggin her all the time?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good. What about you two?"

Cal was taken aback at the question. "What about us two?"

"Are you two together yet?"

"Gillian and I are business partners…"

Isabel shot him an angry glare as she interrupted him. "Ain't I just told you I ain't got a lot of time left to this world? Now quit your yammering and just tell me if you and the doctor are together."

"No, we're not a couple if that's what you're asking."

"Why not?!"

"Bloody hell!" Cal spat, clearly at a loss as to why she was grilling him on his feelings for Gillian.

"Don't be doin' none of that fancy English cursin' in my home! I asked you a question plain and simple!"

"And I answered ya' Gillian and I are not a couple."

"Well ya' oughtta be! You know…I was there at the hospital the day my Amy was given to them. I could see on your face that ya love her and I seen the way she looked at you even though her husband was standing right by her…so why the heck ain't you two together?"

Cal sighed and rubbed his hands over his face as he decided to be honest. "I have no idea."

The woman grunted. "Well, maybe it will come. Now, I gotta tell you a story and I want you to just set there and listen."

"Okay…"

"My husband Earl doted on our daughter Stephanie, treated her like she was some kind of princess. And my Stephanie loved her daddy and when he done passed away, her whole world fell apart. Being daddy's little girl she kinda lost her mind and got into them drugs people's always talking about. Then when she got pregnant with Amy, she tried to straighten out, she really did. She ate good and took proper care of herself. She was so happy when she found them Foster's wanted to adopt Amy. She was relieved that Amy was gonna be in a good home…my Stephanie even started to talk about going back to school. Then after Amy was born, a few weeks later, Stephanie took some money from that Foster fellow."

Cal's jaw dropped open in surprise. "Alec gave her money?"

"Yep, Stephanie used it to sign up for school."

"At's great…" Cal smiled weakly.

"Yeah, I thought so too until one day Stephanie came home with ten thousand dollars. Done told me that Foster fellow gave it to her and told her if she came back and reclaimed the baby he would give her another ten thousand."

Cal's stomach clenched with dread at the news. "Are you sure?" he gasped when he realized it was Alec that had caused Gillian to lose Sophie. "I mean are you absolutely positive that Alec gave Stephanie money?"

"Yep, said taking care of a baby full time was too much for his wife and him to handle and that at this point in their careers, they couldn't care for the baby the way they wanted to."

"That's a bloody lie," Cal mumbled. "Gillian would have quit work without a second thought…but she didn't need to…I would've allowed her to take any amount of time off she needed."

"I kinda thought that may have been what happened. That bastard dangled that money in front of my Stephanie and she thought she could go to school, maybe make something of her self. She got Amy back and moved back in with me. Then that Foster fellow came around a few more times. He said his wife was done torn up inside…couldn't get over the loss. He said he regretted telling us they couldn't take care of the baby and he wondered if Stephanie was doing okay with the responsibility. That piece of shit thought he could just treat that baby like a yo-yo...like Amy didn't have any adjustments to make in her little life! Well, when Stephanie wouldn't give back Amy, I guess he slipped her some more money for school."

"But Stephanie didn't use it for school, did she?" Cal guessed correctly.

"No," the woman said as tears fell from her eyes. "That devil done gave her some drugs as well as money. Poor Stephanie was weak, she got back into them drugs again full time and about seven months ago she overdosed on them."

"I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, me too…but she's with her daddy now and I'll be with them right quick here." Cal reached out and squeezed her hand comfortingly but the woman patted it. "That's why you're here."

"You're worried about Amy," Cal guessed correctly.

"I wanted to know if Dr. Foster would still want her? I wasn't going to ask if she was still with that bastard husband of hers but if he's out of the picture and she's still interested in Amy, I'll sign over custody to her."

Cal was speechless and remained silent as his mind raced with possibilities.

"So, do you think she'd still want her?"

"Meemaw?"

They both turned at the small voice. Cal smiled weakly at the little girl who stood in the doorway to what he could only presume was a bedroom. He stared and though her features had changed dramatically over the past year he could still see traces of the baby he had seen daily for almost two months.

Isabel patted her lap. "Come here, Amy."

Amy walked tentatively forward and slipped into her grandmother's lap. She eyed Cal warily.

He made funny faces at her and she gradually smiled then started to laugh aloud.

Isabel smiled warmly at him. "You'd make a good father."

Cal chuckled. "At's good to know 'cause I am a father! I have a sixteen year old daughter."

"So you done this all once already?"

"Yeah."

"It ain't easy."

Cal nodded. "No, its not. My ex wife and I did pretty good balancing it out though and my Emily's a fantastic kid. She's starting to look into colleges."

"So let me ask you…would you be there to help that sweet lady if she got into trouble raising my Amy?"

"Gillian would never get into trouble, she's one of the strongest people I know but yeah, if she needed me, I'd be there for her, same as she was there when I had some questions with Em."

"So you think we could call her…ask if she'd want my Amy back?"

Cal sighed and blew out a long breath. "I don't know…"

"Look, I done told you I ain't gonna be here much longer and I got to know my little Amy is gonna be all right! Don't want her to go to into no temporary home and be bounced around all the time!"

Cal could see how agitated the woman was and reached for her hand. "No, at's not what I meant, I can promise you, Luv, Gillian will want Sophie back. I just don't want to tell her all of this over the phone."

"Okay, fair enough, that woman done went though hell and I don't want her to face this alone, that's why I called you to begin with."

Cal stood. "Look, I'll go and explain this all to her right now, we'll be back in the morning, would that be okay?"

"Yeah, I reckon I can hold out until then." The woman stood and frowned. "But what if she says no? I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do then?"

Cal knew in his heart that wouldn't happen and as hard as it would be, Gillian would eventually open her heart again and love this little girl.

"Cal?" the woman asked again.

"I'll adopt her myself!" he said flatly before he reached for Amy/Sophie's cheek and caressed it lovingly. "See ya tomorrow, Darling." He turned and looked at Isabel. "One more day, all right, we'll be here first thing in the morning."

"I can make it…" Isabel declared bravely.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Cal drove the three hours back home and when he got closer, glanced at the clock. He picked up his phone and dialed Gillian's number.

"Cal?" her voice said immediately.

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"On my way to see you, we need to talk, where are you?"

"Walking out the door of work, should I stay here?"

"Nah, I'll meet you at your place within the hour."

"Cal, is everything all right?"

"I think it will be, darling."

Gillian frowned when the line went dead. She rolled her eyes knowing she would have to wait until she saw him to figure out what the heck was going on.

Forty five minutes later, she heard a knock at her door.

"Hi," she greeted as she moved to the side to let him in.

"Hey," Cal replied as he leaned in and kissed her cheek then walked passed. "Something smells fantastic, please tell me you made enough for two, I'm starving."

Gillian grinned as she followed him into the kitchen. "You know I did."

Cal made himself at home and grabbed a glass then poured himself a glass of wine. He walked back to the island as Gillian poured his favorite dressing over the top of a pre made salad and handed it to him.

"Sit, eat," she said as she grabbed his shoulders and directed him towards the table.

Cal did as directed then dove hungrily into his salad. Gillian grabbed her salad from the counter then sat down next to him.

She smiled at his exuberance. "Maybe I should have made you a bigger salad."

Cal blushed. "I haven't eaten all day!"

Gillian frowned. "You look tired too; do you want to talk about it?"

Cal swallowed hard and sighed. "Can we get though dinner first, Luv?"

Gillian nodded and reached over to swipe at a smudge of dressing on the side of his lip. "Of course."

Cal's eyes darkened with desire and he blinked and looked down but not before she saw his reaction.

Gillian stood and hid a small grin as she opened the oven door and took out their plates from warming and then brought them to the table. "Plate's hot," she said unnecessarily.

Cal had seen the oven mitts on her hands and nodded. "Thanks." He smiled as he looked at the grilled barbecue chicken breast with sweet potato and grilled asparagus. "Looks fabulous!"

Gillian frowned as she took a bite of her chicken. "You sound surprised."

"I thought I'd get a chocolate fudge sundae or something…," he joked.

"You want me to take that away?" Gillian said as she nodded towards his plate.

"Are you kidding me, its delicious."

They made small talk through the rest of dinner and Gillian started to clean up when Cal suddenly shot to his feet. He quickly stacked the dirty dishes and put them on the counter next to the sink.

"This can wait yeah…we need to talk."

Gillian shrugged. "Sure…okay."

Cal started to walk to the living room as Gillian grabbed their glasses and the rest of the wine bottle.

Cal was pacing when she walked in behind him and set everything down on the coffee table.

He took her hands and led her to the couch and motioned for her to sit. Gillian looked at him oddly but sat and was surprised when he sat directly in front of her and leaned in close.

"I did something today that I didn't want to do but I really had no choice."

Gillian frowned and folded her arms across her chest as she sat back angrily. "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

Cal ignored her and continued. "I received a call from a woman who asked me to meet her at her home."

Gillian rolled her eyes. "If this is going to be about how wonderful she was in bed, I _really_ don't want to hear it!"

Cal shot her a look of sadness then shook his head as he sighed. "No, she was an older woman who has custody of her granddaughter."

At the mention of a child, Gillian softened and opened herself up to listening to the rest of the story.

"When I got there she started asking me questions about…um…" Cal swiped his hand across his face, clearly distressed about telling her.

"Cal!"

"…you and Alec."

"Me and Alec?" Gillian's mouth dropped open with shock. "Why?"

"She also started asking me about how close we were?"

"Who was this woman?" Gillian demanded again, a touch of anger peppered into her tone. "And why the hell was she asking about Alec and I?"

Cal shot to his feet and began to pace the floor as he related the story about how Alec had approached Sophie's mother.

Gillian began to cry at the news of Alec's betrayal. "That bastard!"

"Yeah," Cal commiserated. "But there's more…"

Cal went on to tell her about the money Alec paid to Stephanie and then her eventual death due to drug overdose.

"That poor baby, she was just a kid trying to raise a kid!" Gillian cried out. Her face fell as she quickly realized that wasn't the end of the story. "Oh my God!" What happened to Sophie?!"

Cal sat down beside her again and took her hands in his. "Isabel has been raising Amy…Sophie…alone but…Darling, she's dying and she wants to make sure that Sophie is taken care of when she's gone."

Gillian's mind started racing. "She'll go into the system! She'll be bounced from house to house and she'll never…"

"Gillian!" Cal said forcefully to get her attention. "She wants to release custody to you. She wanted to know if I thought you'd be willing to take Amy…Sophie back…"

Gillian couldn't catch her breath as the shock of his statement swept through her body.

Cal squeezed her hands. "Breathe Foster…come on now…deep breath, Darling, come on…with me…breathe in…good…now out….okay now in…."

After a few cleansing breaths, she smiled weakly at him. "I'm fine, Cal."

He seemed satisfied by her answer so she continued. "What did you tell her?"

"I told her I thought you would…"

"Of course, I would! I just don't understand…why didn't she come to me? Why didn't she ask me?!"

"She wouldn't ask if you were still with Alec and she said you'd been through too much already and if you weren't interested she didn't want to put you through any more pain."

Gillian was touched by the older woman's concern and got up and started pacing the room. "I can't believe this is happening again…I should probably hire an attorney this time and…well first…I guess I should plan to go shopping tomorrow then leave first thing on Saturday and …"

"No, Luv."

Gillian whirled to face him. "What do you mean no?!"

"We have to get Amy….Sophie…tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

"Gill, I think making sure Amy is taken care of is the only reason this woman is holding on. I promised her I'd bring you back tomorrow to get Amy."

"Tomorrow…" Gillian nodded as she took in the news, she started to pace again. "Then I should go to the store tonight…pick up a few things…some snacks and some milk and…" Struck by a thought, she stopped suddenly and looked at him curiously. "Cal, you said you promised Isabel you'd get Sophie tomorrow?"

"At's right…"

"What were you going to do if I said no?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at her and started to walk towards her kitchen. "I told her I would adopt Sophie myself."

"What?!"

"I knew you wouldn't say no…and if you did…"

"Cal?" she prompted as she reached for his arm to turn him around.

When he was facing her again, he raised his hands out to his sides and shrugged. "She's still your daughter, Gill, always has been…she may have been somewhere else this past year but she's still yours and I'd raise her myself until you could come to terms with…"

Gillian knew at that exact second that she was never more in love with him then right now. "Oh, Cal!" she said as she walked to hug him.

Cal hugged her tightly then backed away slowly. He was taken aback when she followed him to kiss him. Her tongue begged for entry and he frowned with confusion but opened himself to her. His hands rested on her waist while she flung her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

They were panting heavily when she pulled back. She smiled when he looked away guiltily. She gently grabbed his head and turned it back so she could look into his eyes. "I love you, Cal."

"Gill…" he started as he shook his head.

"Not because you're helping me get Sophie back, not because I'm grateful and not because I'm over emotional right now. It's because you are one of the sweetest, kindest men I know and I've wanted you for so long. I am so sick of that blasted line that I created and…I wish I hadn't let so much time pass before I…"

Cal leaned forward and stopped her ramblings by kissing her. He ran his hands through her hair and held her head as he kissed her with all the passion he had been holding at bay.

They stepped back again and looked at one another in surprise.

"I love you too, Foster."

Gillian sneered at the name. "Don't _**ever**_ call me that name again! I want to wipe out every tie I've ever had to Alec."

"Okay…"

"As soon as I can, I'm changing it back to my maiden name."

"It's kind of soon but…" Cal took her hand and looked at the floor shyly. "You could consider changing it to Lightman..."

Gillian's mouth dropped open with shock. "Did you just…I…Cal? I did hear you right….you did just ask me to marry you, didn't you?"

Cal was so afraid he overstepped his bounds and was petrified of her reaction; he shoved his hands in his front pockets as he rocked back on his heels. "Look, I know I'm not the easiest guy to be around and I realize that you'd be slumming…"

"Yes!"

"What?!"

"Yes! I'd be honored to be your wife!"

"Really?" he asked with shock.

"Really!"

"Fos…" he began, then rolled his eyes at the mean look she shot him. "Gillian, are you sure, Luv?"

Gillian leaned in and began to kiss him passionately. Within a few minutes, she had started to pull his shirt over his head. She was running her hands up his back and over his shoulders when he pulled her hips against his so she could feel how ready he was for her.

"Gill?"

"Now, Cal…make love to me…" she demanded.

Cal was more than happy to do her bidding but suddenly stopped. "No!" Cal leaned away and took her hands in his then looked into her eyes. "Bloody hell…I am so going to regret saying this but Darling, this has all been such a shock and things are moving way too fast."

"Fast? Really? We've been dancing around this line for months…"

"I don't want you to regret…"

Gillian kissed him again. "I won't."

Cal kissed her lightly then stepped back. "I'm not going to blow this! I'm not going to let us rush into this! We have a huge day tomorrow and then your life is going to have a major upheaval when we bring Sophie home. If you still feel this way in say…a week or two…I'll make love to you every night for the rest of our lives."

Gillian looked at him and nodded. "Deal…so seven days from now…exactly one week, you're promising me we'll be together?"

"Yep."

"Okay, I can wait seven more days."

Cal grinned. "This is going to be the longest week of my life."

"Cal…I love you but I haven't stopped thinking about Sophie this entire time. Did you see her?"

"I did, she's changed but I could still see traces of that little cherub that sat in your arms all day."

Gillian grinned. "I don't know if I can wait until tomorrow to see her."

Cal took a deep breath. "It's a three hour drive. We could go there now and rent a hotel room then see her first thing in the morning."

Gillian could see the tiredness in his eyes and shook her head. "Why don't we just go to sleep now and wake up early and leave?"

"Whatever you want, Luv." Cal nodded as he reached for his coat. "I guess I should get out of here then…"

"No! Stay here with me."

"Thanks but the mattress in your spare room is horrible!"

"Then maybe you should sleep in my room. We'll go to your house in the morning and you can change before we leave."

"Okay."

"You left your gym bag by Heidi's desk. I picked it up and threw it in my trunk."

Cal pointed at the car. "Um…Okay, I'll just go grab a pair of sweats and hop in the shower if that's all right."

"Of course."

Cal grabbed his gym bag from her car then walked into her bathroom. He saw that she had thoughtfully left out towels and a washcloth as well as a new toothbrush. He showered in record time and as the warm water beat down on his back he could finally feel the day catching up to him and the tiredness was seeping in.

Gillian was lying in bed propped up on pillows reading when he walked in. Her nightgown was a navy satin and not only did it make the blue in her eyes pop, it showed an ample amount of cleavage.

Cal groaned aloud. "Hey."

She glanced up and saw his damp hair and naked chest. His sweat pants rode low on his hips and she swallowed hard.

He saw the desire in her eyes that mirrored his own. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," he grinned. "I should probably head to the guest room, yeah?"

Gillian smiled weakly. "No, please? We can do this…"

Cal frowned as he climbed in as she reached over and turned out the light. He sighed when his head hit the pillow. He put his arm around her and Gillian scooted against him then draped a leg over his. "Gill, I don't thing you should do that."

"Sorry." She said as she removed her leg then leaned in for a kiss.

Cal kissed her then settled back down and closed his eyes.

Gillian fidgeted for a while longer until Cal turned over and held her. "Shhh, Luv, you've got to try to relax, we have such a big day tomorrow."

"I can't sleep! I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve."

Cal nodded and started to caress her back lightly. "I know Darling," he mumbled tiredly.

Gillian pushed at him lightly. "Roll over," she directed.

Cal frowned then turned the other way. He moaned when Gillian began to knead the muscles in his back. She smiled when she felt his breathing even out and continued to massage him until she heard his light snores. She slipped quietly from the bed then closed the bedroom door tightly behind her before she walked into the kitchen.

She busied herself cleaning up from dinner as her mind raced with things she needed to do to prepare for a toddler to come to her house.

When the dishes were put away and the counters cleaned, she grabbed a pad of paper and started her list. She quickly completed two pages of things she would need by tomorrow which included mostly food and clothing items and the daily essentials. A third list had bigger items such as furniture and a stroller.

Gillian was restless and knew she would never get to sleep. She went into the spare bedroom and started to clean it, knowing it would become Sophie's room. She found the old photo album in one of the drawers and took it into the kitchen to have better lighting.

She stared at each one of the pictures for several minutes before she moved onto the next. She was trying to familiarize herself with Sophie's features again and she allowed her mind to imagine what she looked like now, just eighteen months later.

Gillian frowned when she found a picture of Alec holding Sophie. She brought it closer to her face to really look at it. She frowned and finally set it down on the table in disgust.

She saw a movement then blinked in surprise to find Cal was leaning against the doorway looking at her. He blew out a tired breath as he came over. He picked up the photo then stared at it as he sat down next to her.

"I can't believe I never saw it before…" She began as Cal stared at her then grimaced remorsefully and looked away. Gillian chuckled derisively. "You saw it all along didn't you?"

He frowned at her and shrugged. "What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know…that he was never comfortable holding her! Every damn picture in this box is of me and Sophie and the few that I have of him look like this. He never loved her! He never became comfortable with her! How could I have not seen this?!"

"You saw what you wanted to see, Luv."

"I make my living knowing when people are telling me lies…I can hear it in their voices the second it leaves their lips. But not Alec…he told me everything I ever wanted to hear and I believed every one of his lies!"

Cal leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You were madly in love with your newborn daughter and like every new mother you assumed everyone else was just as enamored with Sophie as you were."

"Well, I certainly thought her own father would be!"

Cal pulled her into his embrace. "I'm sorry he wasn't. I'm sorry he cost you all these months with Sophie but you know what? Starting tomorrow you'll make up for all that lost time and you'll have your little girl back in your arms again."

Gillian cupped his cheek and kissed him. "Thanks to you."

Cal shook his head as he tried to stifle a yawn. "Sophie's grandmother knows _**you**_ are the best choice to raise that little girl. _**You**_ are the reason she got a hold of me."

Cal was exhausted and Gillian was finally starting to grow weary as well. "Come on, let's get you back in bed," Gillian said as she stood and reached for Cal's hand.

"You gonna stay put this time?" Cal grumbled as he followed behind her.

"I will," Gillian promised as they climbed into bed. Cal spooned up against her and held her while they fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Cal and Gillian left early the next morning. Gillian had made a thermos of coffee and since there was little to no traffic, they were easily out on the highway in record time.

An hour later, Cal stopped to fill up the gas tank. Gillian went inside to use the bathroom and when she came out, Cal nodded towards the fast food restaurant. "Something to eat?"

Gillian placed her hand on her stomach and shook her head. "I'm so excited; I don't think I can eat."

Cal handed her the keys and pointed at the men's room. "I'll meet you in the car then."

Cal came out of the bathroom and headed to grab some breakfast sandwiches. After he had his bag of food, he was walking passed a Cinnabon display and rolled his eyes and grinned. He quickly grabbed one for Gillian and popped it into the microwave. He dropped the money on the counter and walked to the car.

He grinned at Gillian as he sat behind the wheel and handed her the box.

"I said I didn't want…Oh Cal!" she said when she smelled the enticing aroma of cinnamon.

"Yeah, I knew you'd change your mind…"

Gillian opened the lid and groaned with pleasure. "It smells wonderful!"

Cal chuckled. "It smells like a stomach ache."

"Thank you."

"Welcome." Cal replied as he buckled his seat belt and pulled back onto the highway.

Gillian opened his sandwich and handed it to him before she took a bite of her roll.

"Oh God!" she moaned.

"Good?"

"Good?! This is better then sex!"

Cal grinned and wagged his eyes suggestively. "There is no way eating a sticky cinnamon roll is better than sex with me."

His eyes had darkened and Gillian stuck the spoon in her mouth and licked at the frosting. "I can't wait to compare."

"Damn!" Cal muttered at the turn the conversation had taken.

Gillian continued to moan as she ate her roll.

Cal looked at her with surprise. "It can't be that good!"

Gillian put a small bite on the spoon and offered it to him.

Cal took it and made a face. "Bloody hell, I think I just got a cavity!"

"You don't know what good is!"

"I hope you don't plan on feeding our daughters that crap!"

Gillian's eyes softened as she looked at him. "Our daughters?"

Cal glanced at her. "Well, yeah…you've pretty much been like a step Mum to Em her whole life and I kind of thought as long as you and I were going to be married that I would…you know…adopt Sophie along with you."

"Cal?!" Gillian gasped.

Cal's face fell as he realized he may have overstepped his bounds. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as he stared at the road ahead of him "Look it was just a thought, if you don't…"

"Are you sure?" Gillian interrupted him as she placed her hand on his arm.

Cal glanced at her and could see her uncertainty. "Of course, Darling, we're in this together, yeah?"

Gillian had tears come to her eyes. "It's just that Emily is leaving for college soon and I wasn't sure if you wanted to do the whole parenting thing all over again…"

"I can't say raising a child wasn't challenging but I loved every minute of it."

"Emily is a wonderful young woman; you and Zoe did a fabulous job."

"Zoe and I disagreed on almost every aspect of raising Emily and despite our mistakes we luckily got through."

"You and I make a great team Cal; I can't imagine raising Sophie with anyone but you."

"At's good since we're going to be married," Cal joked.

Gillian cleaned up the wrappers from their breakfast then poured them each more coffee from the thermos.

Her thoughts turned to Sophie again and she sighed. "How much further?"

Cal sighed as he looked at her. "We've gone about forty miles since the last time you asked…"

Gillian rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry…I'm so excited!"

"Understandable," he said as he reached for her hand and curled his fingers around it.

Gillian nodded and settled back in her seat and tried to relax.

Cal told her funny stories about Emily growing up and although Gillian had been closely involved most of them she had never heard before.

Cal eventually turned off the highway and was weaving through streets as Gillian observed the neighborhood.

She looked at him worriedly when he pulled up in front of a house and stopped. "Is this is?!"

"This is it."

"Cal?! What if she doesn't like me? What if Isabel has changed her mind? What if…"

"Gill?" Cal said as he put his arm around her. "It's going to be all right, Darling, I promise."

He kissed her temple then got out and walked around to her side of the car. Gillian had gotten out and stood, looking tentatively at the house.

Cal reached for her hand and squeezed it. "We have to go inside to do this."

Gillian sighed and held onto his hand tightly as they made their way up the front walk.

A tall man in a suit greeted them at the door. Cal dropped Gillian's hand and stepped forward and offered the man his hand.

"Cal Lightman."

The man shook it and nodded. "I know who you are Dr. Lightman as well as you, Dr. Foster," he said as he extended his hand to Gillian.

Gillian shook it and smiled. "Nice to meet you…"

"Kyle Rappaport, I'm Isabel's attorney and a family friend."

"Attorney?" Cal asked.

"I've know about this for some time. Isabel approached me awhile ago and I drew up the necessary adoption papers a few months back. Isabel signed her portion back then so there'd be no question as to the sound body and mind portion. If this works out, Dr. Foster, you only need to sign your portion then Amy becomes your little girl once again."

They had walked inside and Cal glanced into the living room. A nurse was sitting in the far corner presumably taking notes and Isabel was lying on the couch. She was in horrible shape and Cal couldn't believe how quickly she had declined since yesterday. Ignoring Kyle he walked and over and knelt by her side. "We're here now, Isabel," he whispered as he took her hand.

"I can see that. Did Dr. Foster come with you?"

Cal glanced at Gillian who was hovering nervously in the doorway. "She did."

He held out his hand for Gillian who walked over and took it. She glanced at Isabel and saw that the woman was clearly at the end of her life. Filled with sympathy, Gillian knelt in the floor next to her. "Hello, Isabel. It's nice to meet you."

Isabel glanced at her and smiled. "I forgot what a pretty little thing you are."

Gillian blushed. "Thank you."

Isabel coughed. "Yeah, did he tell you the story?"

"He did, he explained it all to me last night."

"I didn't want you to be hurt no more…"

"That's very kind of you, thank you."

"Guess we should just move this along…can you help me set up?"

Cal helped prop her up on a pile of pillows while Gillian helped her get a drink of water.

"Kyle, call Amy on in here."

Kyle walked into the other room and woke a sleeping Amy. When he carried her out, she was rubbing at her face and whining.

Gillian gasped and got to her feet and walked towards her. "Hi, baby."

Amy looked at her suspiciously then looked down at Isabel.

Isabel nodded. "Go on Amy, that's your Momma."

Amy stared at Gillian then frowned as she reached out her arms. Gillian's eyes filled with tears as she held her again. "Hi, Amy."

Isabel's voice was weak when she spoke again. "Cal here promised me you was gonna adopt Amy so I talked to her all last night and told her what was gonna happen. I'm sure she don't understand none of what I said but she's a good baby. She won't give you no trouble."

Gillian walked over to Cal and sat on a chair next to him. "Its okay if she does, we'll love her through all of it, I promise."

Isabel nodded. "He done promised me he'd help you raise her too."

"And he will; we're actually getting married."

Isabel smiled warmly for the first time. "Well that's good news ain't it?"

Cal grinned. "We owe it all to you…"

Isabel chuckled. "Well, that's just sweet. He's a charmer this one is…better keep a tight rein on him," she said as she glanced at Gillian.

Gillian laughed and touched her arm. "He's also one of the most loving, loyal men I know so if he makes me a promise, he'll keep it."

"I believe ya, he never met me and he promised he'd bring you back today and he did. Now, Kyle here is the son of my best friend. After I found I only had a short time left, he drew up them papers in his hands and helped me find you all…now that you've come for Amy, he can finish his job and you all can take that princess outta here and I can move on."

Kyle coughed and stepped forward. "Dr. Foster, if you would just sign on the areas indicated, I can run down to the courthouse and get these signed by the judge."

Gillian frowned as she signed the papers. "Will that even be legal? What judge would sign these without hearing all the facts first?"

"Judge Williams still sits on the bench. She said Amy was yours from the beginning and should have never left your arms. She's happy to correct my Stephanie's mistake and give Amy back to her rightful Mama," Isabel explained.

Judge Williams was the judge who had originally awarded custody back to Stephanie. Gillian remembered her saying that she was firmly against the decision but the law dictated what she had to do. Kyle leaned over and showed Gillian a final spot. "You need to fill out the name you would like Amy to go by so that is where you would put Sophie's name."

Gillian frowned and glanced at Cal who knew immediately what she was thinking. He winked at her and nodded as Gillian handed the pages to Kyle and looked at Isabel. "I lost Sophie as a baby and I'm adopting Amy now. I'd like Amy to keep the name her mother and Grandmother gave her."

Isabel closed her eyes slowly. "That's nice. Now one last thing, it ain't much but Cal and you can take the few things Amy has. There's an old suitcase in the attic, you go clean it on up and pack Amy's things in it, you hear?" she directed at Cal.

Cal nodded and stood. "Sure, I'll go get it now."

Kyle leaned over and kissed Isabel's forehead. "I'm going to go file these, Aunt Isabel."

"Go on, son, you get that done."

Left alone in the room, Gillian was still holding Amy in her arms when Amy leaned back to look into her eyes. Gillian cuddled her and kissed her head.

"It's okay, baby, I'm here."

Isabel nodded and looked over at Amy. "You done be a good daughter to your new Mama…I'll be watching over you little one."

Gillian held her hand as Isabel closed her eyes and took her final breath.

Cal came down from the attic with a dusty suitcase and saw the tears in Gillian's eyes as she looked up at him. He grimaced when he realized that Isabel had passed.

The nurse was hovering uncertainly and Gillian got up and walked over by Cal so she could perform her final duties.

Cal hugged Gillian briefly then leaned back and kissed Amy's head. "Why don't we pack up Amy's things and get her out of here before they come for her grandma."

Gillian nodded and walked to Amy's room as Cal went to the kitchen and quickly cleaned the suitcase. He set it on the bed and turned to see Gillian walking with an armful of clothes. "I think this is all she had…"

Cal sighed. "Well, she wasn't in school and they probably didn't get out much…"

Gillian nodded. "I was hoping to have more to be able to save for her so I could show her later how much she was loved."

Cal walked around and found an old photo album. "This will help and I'll get a hold of Kyle. See if there are any other photos we can have."

Gillian grabbed the few toys around the room as well as the comforter on the bed and put them all in the suitcase as well. "Would you put this in the car?"

"Course, I will." Cal said as he took it and went outside.

Gillian sat in a rocker in the room and started to rock Amy in her lap. She was humming a tune and Amy was almost asleep when Cal came back in.

"I found a car seat out in the garage. I cleaned it up as best as I could. It's old and worn but it will get us safely home."

Gillian smiled at him. "You're a great help."

Cal leaned over and took Amy into his arms. "The undertakers car just pulled up, we should…"

"Okay," Gillian stood and grabbed a blanket from the back of the rocker. She paused briefly as she looked at Amy. "Amy, honey, would you like to say goodbye to your Grandma before we go?"

"Meemaw…" Amy spoke shyly.

Gillian kissed her as Cal set her down and took her hand and led her to the couch.

Amy stared at Isabel then looked at Cal. "Meemaw…nigh night?"

Cal blew out a long breath and knelt down. "No little one, Meemaw is not nigh night…she's not going to wake up, Luv."

Amy frowned and looked at Gillian then pointed at the front door. "We go bye bye?"

Gillian smiled through the tears and nodded. "Yep, we're going bye bye too."

Amy turned back and leaned over to kiss Isabel's cheek. "Bye bye Meemaw."

"Oh my God," Gillian gasped as she started to cry.

Cal had tears in his eyes when he picked up Amy then put his arm around Gillian and led them both to the car. He had secured the car seat into the back and Gillian watched as he buckled Amy into place. Gillian covered her with a light blanket then handed her a stuffed animal.

She backed away and Cal gave her a quick hug then kissed her forehead. "Let's get our daughter home, yeah?"

Gillian walked to her side and climbed in while Cal climbed behind the wheel and drove off.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the road, Amy fell asleep after about a half an hour and Gillian settled back into her seat.

"Cal…"

"Hmmm?" Cal answered distractedly as he changed lanes.

"I want to take Amy to your house."

"Okay..." Cal frowned as he looked over at her worriedly. "Did you change you're mind, Darling?"

Gillian looked at him pointedly. "Are you kidding me? No…it's just that we're certainly not going to live in my apartment and if we're going to be together anyway it makes the most sense that we introduce Amy to her new home now. I don't want to get her settled in then uproot her again in a few weeks."

Cal nodded and grinned. "Makes sense," he chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Gill wondered.

"We're not even married yet and you're taking over my life."

Gillian looked at him uncertainly. "If it's too much for…"

"I'm kidding!" Cal laughed aloud as he took her hand and kissed it.

Gillian's eyes grew round. "Emily!"

"What about her?"

"She knows nothing about this!"

Cal shrugged. "So…we'll tell her about it this weekend."

"Cal! We can't just let her walk in the back door to find out Amy and I have moved in."

"Why not?"

"Cal! It's her home!"

"Last time I checked she hadn't made a mortgage payment."

"Cal!"

"Gillian, it's my home…she loves you and she'll love Amy. She'll be fine with all of this, I promise!"

Gillian sighed and shook her head. "I wish we had more time to prepare her."

"We didn't have any time to prepare and we pulled through, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Amy slept the rest of the way home. Cal pulled up in his driveway and Gillian came around as he was unbuckling her from her car seat. They walked in the back door to find Emily in the kitchen making cookies.

"Hey." She greeted not looking up from the cookie tray.

"Hello, Darling," Cal greeted.

"Hi, Em."

Emily looked up then and saw Gillian tentatively standing there.

She smiled warmly. "Hey Gillian, wow…she's a cutie, isn't she?" she said as she glanced at Amy. "Are you guys babysitting? Who's kid is it? She kind of looks like Sophie…Can she have a cookie?"

Gillian blinked at the barrage of questions while Cal put his arm around her shoulders and held up his other hand as he counted off the answers to Emily's questions. "Yes, no, ours, that's cause she is and yes."

Gillian frowned as Emily's eyes grew wide. "So, she's a cutie, you're not babysitting, she's yours, she _is_ Sophie and she can have a cookie?"

"At's what I said." Cal mumbled as he got a cookie and handed it to Amy who promptly started to eat it.

"What do you mean she's yours?"

Cal poured a sippy cup full of milk for Amy while Gillian sat at the table. He sat down next to her and motioned for Emily to sit as well.

He and Gillian related the whole story. Tears came to Emily's eyes at the ending. "That's so sad, that poor lady, but its great you got Sophie back!"

Gillian nodded. "Out of respect for her Mom and Grandma, we're going to continue to call her Amy."

Cal reached for Emily's hand. "Hey, Luv, there's a few things more we need to tell ya…"

"What?"

"Gill and I are getting married."

Emily squealed and came and hugged Gillian. "It's about damn time!"

"Aye! Don't swear in front of your little sister!"

Emily's eyes grew round again. "That's right! If you and Gill get married Amy will be my little sister!" She squealed again and started laughing as she tickled Amy.

Amy giggled and offered Emily her half eaten cookie. Emily scooped her up and started dancing around the room. "It is going to be so cool having a sister! I'm going to take you shopping and then we can braid each other's hair and have slumber parties…" struck by a thought, she suddenly whirled around to face them. "Has it dawned on either of you that Amy has no place to sleep tonight? We need to go shopping!"

"Em, we just bleeding walked in the back door!"

Emily ignored him as she looked at Gillian. "We need to make a list…can I help pick stuff out?"

Gillian was laughing excitedly. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this Emily?"

Cal rolled his eyes. "You can see she's clearly devastated by the news…"

Emily hugged Gillian. "I'm more than fine…I just got a new mother and little sister in the space of an hour…now these lists…"

Gillian walked to her purse and excitedly took paper out. "I already started one."

She and Emily put there heads together while they poured over the list. Cal sighed and looked over at Amy.

"You're going to cost me a ton of money, aren't you?"

Amy held up her chocolate covered hands and nodded. "More cookie?"

Cal sighed as he handed her another one. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long day."

"Em, the first thing I need to get is a bed."

"I hope it's assembled," Cal grumbled under his breath, thinking of the endless nuts and bolts and screws he would have to sort through to put it together.

Gillian ignored him as she continued. "I'll probably wait on the comforter and curtains until after I paint the bedroom and get new carpeting."

"Bloody hell," Cal gasped as he realized his next two weekends would be spent on a ladder painting the guest room.

Emily shook her head with confusion. "We don't have to do that…Dad just painted my room and replaced the carpeting like six months ago. Liam and I can move my bed into the guest room and Amy can have my old room."

Gillian protested. "Emily I don't want to kick you out of your room."

Emily rolled her eyes. "First, I'm only here half the time and I'm leaving next year for college. Second, my room would be closer to you and Dad for any problems Amy might have _and_ seeing as you're going to be in the honeymoon mood stage for awhile, I'd be happy to be far away from your room because…ewe…just ewe."

Gillian blushed as she laughed aloud. "Sorry…we'll keep the ewe down…"

"Maybe…" Cal muttered.

Once again Gillian ignored him and continued. "And thank you for offering your room. It does make the most sense but I don't want you to feel displaced in your own home."

"Well, as of tonight its Amy's home too so let's get out of here and make her a room."

Gillian turned to see Amy covered in chocolate. She frowned as she looked at Cal. "How many cookies did she have?"

Cal blinked. "I'm sorry, are you talking to me, cause I didn't think you remembered I was sitting here…"

"Lame, Dad…just lame…I'm getting my purse so we can leave."

She took off up the steps and Gillian leaned over to kiss Cal. "Are you feeling neglected already?"

Cal kissed her back. "Not so much anymore."

"Good…are you regretting any of this?"

"No, but I have a feeling I'm going to have to take on some of those crappy cheating spouse cases to pay for all of this…"

"What if I said I'd help on those crappy cases? Would it make it more bearable?"

"Maybe…" Cal sighed.

Gillian kissed him deeply. "How about now?"

"Ewe factor!" Emily grumbled when she came down.

Gillian turned around to see her grinning. "Are you ready?"

"Yep, but you better clean up the cookie monster there," she said as she pointed at Amy.

Gillian grabbed a towel and started to clean Amy up while Cal grabbed her a clean shirt. "Here you go, Luv."

Gillian stripped off the chocolate smeared shirt and handed it to Cal who threw it into the laundry room. "Let's go then!"

Gillian pulled Amy's shirt on and Emily scooped her up. "You riding in the backseat with me kid? We have a lot of stuff to cover over the next few days if you want any knowledge on how to handle these two…"

Amy squealed happily when Emily twirled her around as she walked towards the car. She secured Amy in her car seat then climbed in next to her and played with her all the way to the mall.

Cal carried Amy inside then set her down and Emily immediately grabbed her hand and started walking with her. "Keep up kid; you don't want to be left behind."

Gillian was all smiles as Cal took her hand. "Guess you're stuck holding my hand."

Gillian nodded towards the girls. "Cal, I am so grateful Emily is so accepting of all of this."

"Told you she would be…"

"You did…"

Gillian had leaned in and kissed him at exactly the time Emily turned around. "Ewww…do I have to separate you two long enough to get through this."

"It's not me, Em. Foster here can't keep her hands off me." At the mention of her last name, Gillian shot him a death look and he held up his hands. "Sorry, habit! _Gillian_ can't keep her hands off me!"

Gillian laughed aloud. "That still sounds bad but its better."

Over the next hour, Cal discovered Gillian was a very frugal shopper. Although she loved clothes and bought expensive ones for herself, he discovered she never bought anything unless it was on sale and even then she asked the salesperson for a bigger discount. She also realized Amy would grow out of her clothes too quickly to warrant spending money on anything really expensive.

Three hours later, Amy was starting to whine. Cal ended up carrying her where she promptly fell asleep against his shoulder.

Gillian turned around and looked at him. "You have never looked more handsome to me then you do right now."

Cal knew what she meant and his eyes softened as he looked at her lovingly. "Because our baby is asleep on my shoulder?"

"Yes, there is nothing hotter than a dad holding his child."

She kissed him and Cal grinned into her mouth. "I have so many myths of yours to disprove."

"Aww…Dad…you look so cute. I remember when you used to carry me like that…" Emily laughed.

"Well, it's been awhile, yeah. Have you two done enough damage to my credit card yet? Cause I think Amy here has been eating bricks…"

"Want me to carry her for awhile?" Gillian asked.

Cal handed her over and within twenty minutes, Gillian's arms were tired. "Remind me to get a stroller…"

Cal laughed. "Heavy, yeah?"

"Dad's old now so it's bound to be harder."

"Hey!"

Gillian giggled. "Still, I think we should head home."

"Yeah, especially if you want Liam and I to get my bed moved."

On the way home, it was a unanimous vote and they stopped and picked up a few pizzas.

Liam met them at the front door and he and Cal carried the box for the toddler bed upstairs and left it in the hallway.

They all sat down and ate their dinner quickly then Liam and Emily took the twin bed from the guest room and put it into the basement. Then he and Cal lugged Emily's bed down the hall and had it assembled in the guest room.

Cal sat on the floor to assemble the toddler bed. Gillian helped hand him the screws and bolts he needed while Amy explored the room.

Cal grinned when she put her fingerprints all over the windows.

"Gill, why don't you take Amy downstairs and play with her. She's got to be bored stiff up here and she needs to be tired out or she won't sleep tonight."

"Are you sure, Cal? I feel bad sticking you with all the work."

Cal waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, makes me feel manly. If you want I'll even wear the tool belt to bed later on."

Gillian wagged her eyebrows suggestively. "That I want to see."

She scooped up Amy and headed downstairs to sit on the floor and play with the new toys they bought.

An hour later, she heard the vacuum going upstairs and picked up Amy to see if Cal had finished.

Emily walked in and looked around. "It's shaping up. Can we do the dressers tomorrow? Liam and I wanted to see a movie."

"Sure, Luv," Cal agreed. "Thanks for your help."

Emily kissed Amy. "Goodnight Amy, see you tomorrow."

Amy waved at her as she left then pushed away from Gillian. "Down."

Gillian set her down and watched as she walked over to her bed. "My bed."

Cal nodded and ruffled her hair. "Sure is, Darling, that's Amy's bed."

Gillian glanced at her watch as she pointed down. "Someone needs a bath."

"Amy baf!" she squealed with delight and ran out of the room. Gillian took off after her and chased her down the hall.

"Yes, Amy is getting a bath."

"Me baf! Me baf!"

Gillian opened the door to the bathroom and Amy ran inside and tried to take off her clothes. Frustrated, she began to whine. Gillian quickly stripped her down then started the bath water and set Amy in the tub.

Gillian was trying to wash her hair when Cal walked in. She looked at Cal pleadingly. "I had no idea washing long hair was so hard."

Cal slid down next to her and grinned. "Just takes lots of practice. Watch a master in action."

True to his word, Cal had Amy's hair shampooed and conditioned in record time.

"I'm impressed."

Cal laughed. "It's been a long time but I'm glad to see I've still got it!"

Amy splashed and giggled for over twenty minutes then finally grew tired. Cal held a fluffy towel in the air and wrapped Amy in it after Gillian scooped her out of the tub. He carried her to the bed and Gillian grabbed a pair of her old pajamas to dress in. She wanted her to have some familiar things for her first night away.

Cal had thoughtfully brought all her toys up as well for that very same purpose.

Gillian settled Amy in the bed and covered her up then sat on the floor next to the bed. Cal handed her a book then settled down next to Gillian and held Amy's hand. He caressed it absently with his thumb while Gillian read aloud.

Two books later, Cal began to read and Amy looked at him intently. Gill had to smile because she assumed this was the first time, Amy had really heard more than a few token words from Cal.

A few pages into the book her eyes closed and Cal softened his voice. By the time he got to the last page, Amy was asleep.

He nodded towards Gillian who followed him out the door. They left the hall light on and walked into Cal's room.

"If it's okay with you, I'm going to take a shower…" Gillian asked timidly.

Cal shook his head as he took her in his arms. "This is your home now too, Luv, you have free reign to do whatever you want here."

Gillian kissed him lightly and smirked at him. "So…I have your permission to make any changes I want?"

Cal shrugged indifferently as he grabbed a clean towel. "Whatever you want."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, why?" Cal turned around and looked at her quizzically as he looked around the room. "You're not planning to knock down any walls or tear off the roof are you?"

Gillian rolled her eyes. "Of course not…"

Cal looked at her worriedly. "Good, 'cause you know how much I make and we can't really afford anything major right now."

"Nope, nothing major…I promise…just some redecorating."

Cal made a face. "So…new curtains and bedspreads and such?"

Gillian grinned. "I promise it won't be expensive, I'd like to bring some of my stuff here and incorporate it with yours…"

"Darling, your couch is white and we just adopted an eighteen month daughter."

"That's what slip covers are for…"

Cal kissed her quickly as he turned. "Well, whatever you want…I'm using Em's shower."

Gillian excitedly walked to the bathroom and quickly took a shower while she mentally thought about the changes she'd like to make. She quickly dried her hair and brushed her teeth then opened the door and walked into the bedroom.

"Bloody hell, Gill!"

Gillian blinked in surprise and stopped as she looked up. "What?"

Her mouth went dry as she looked over at the bed to see Cal propped up staring at her lovingly.

"You look fantastic, Luv," Cal complimented adorably.

Gillian rolled her eyes as she blushed. "Thanks, but I think you've seen me in this nightgown before…"

Cal slipped from the bed and walked over to stand in front of her. He put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest. "Yeah, but when I was looking before, what I saw, didn't belong to me."

Gillian put her hands against his chest and leaned forward. "And now it does and you have my permission to do more than just look."

Cal's hands slipped up her back and tangled in her hair as he started kissing her passionately. "It's going to be a long week!" he grumbled as he backed away.

It was only seconds before Gillian hands started tugging at the string on his pajama bottoms. "Let's not wait!"

Cal grabbed for her hands to stop her. "Gill…"

"Hmmm…."

He had pulled away and she leaned back to look at him curiously. He smiled as he looked at her affectionately. "Darling, I've dreamed of this moment for far too long to have it go this quickly."

Gillian started to pout then smiled devilishly. "Why don't we get the first time over with then we can go slower next time…"

"Really?" Cal blinked in surprise.

Gillian pushed him against the bed. When he sat down hard on the edge, she climbed on top and straddled his hips as she kissed him passionately.

Cal took only a second to recover from his surprise before he took control of their lovemaking and flipped her to her back.

Gillian laughed as she scooted out from under him and started to slip out of her nightgown.

Cal grabbed her hands to stop her. "Let me…"

Gillian stopped and blushed as Cal slipped off her gown then looked down the length of her body. "Beautiful…" he said as he claimed her lips again.

Afterwards, Cal was panting heavily and Gillian had a satisfied smile on her face as she snuggled up against him.

"Oh God…I wish I had known it was going to be that good…can't believe how much time we wasted."

Cal grinned as he pulled her close. "We can always try to improve on it…"

Gillian felt the evidence that he was ready again and giggled as she climbed on top.

Lying on her back again and fully satisfied, Gillian reached for Cal's hand. "Cal, when do you want to get married?"

"Whenever you want to, Darling." Cal mumbled sleepily.

Gillian slapped at him playfully. "That's not an answer!"

Cal frowned as he propped himself up on his elbow.

"Gill, I love you and have for quite awhile. I feel like we're already committed and a piece of paper isn't going to make me feel like we are less of a family."

Gillian sighed with relief. "I agree…"

Cal held her hand and kissed it. "Maybe we could just go to the court house with Emily and Amy."

"Loker and Torres could be our witnesses."

"At's fine, Luv."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Two weeks later on a Saturday morning, Cal was making pancakes and Gillian was seated at the table drinking coffee.

A knock sounded on the back door and Cal looked at Gillian and frowned. "Who the hell is that so bloody early?"

Gillian grinned as she got up. "It's 10:00, Cal."

"It seems earlier…" Cal grumbled as he flipped the bacon in the pan.

"Maybe if you hadn't stayed up all night…" Gillian teased him as she made her way to the door.

"Making love to my wife!"

"Twice!" Gillian giggled as she opened the door and gasped. "Kyle?"

"Yes, Dr. Foster."

Gillian motioned for him to come in. "It's Lightman, Cal and I got married last week."

"Congratulations," Kyle said as he entered the kitchen and greeted Cal. "Good morning."

"Kyle!" Cal frowned with surprise.

Kyle reached into his coat pocket and brought out some papers then turned to address Gillian. "These are the final documents for the adoption. Amy is officially your daughter."

Cal came around and kissed Gillian's temple. "At's great news."

Gillian smiled as tears came to her eyes and she hugged him warmly. "The best!"

Emily bounced down the steps with Amy in her arms. "Hello!" she said to Kyle.

"Hi," Kyle smiled as he extended his hand.

Amy squealed and ran to Kyle who promptly scooped her up and kissed her before he tickled her. "Hi, Amy!"

"Kyle is a friend of Amy's family. He's the lawyer Isabel used to file the adoption papers. He just brought them by…Amy is officially ours!" Gillian explained.

"Cool!" Emily exclaimed as Amy reached for her. "Hey, that means you're officially my sister!"

"Sissy!" Amy squealed. "Eat!"

Kyle nodded. "I should probably leave you to your breakfast."

"Care to join us?" Gillian asked.

Kyle shook his head. "No…I…uh…ate already."

Cal laughed aloud. "At's a bleeding lie that is…go ahead and have a seat and join my family," he ordered.

"Thank you, I'm starving," Kyle grinned as he sat.

Gillian guided Kyle to a seat then grabbed a mug. "Coffee?"

"That would be wonderful!"

Gillian quickly poured him a cup then pushed the cream and sugar closer to his side.

Cal came in with two plates. One was filled with pancakes and one was filled with bacon and sausage. "Eat up!"

"This smells fantastic!" Kyle gushed.

"Dad makes an awesome pancake and he always makes enough to feed an army," Emily added.

Gillian was cutting up a pancake into small pieces. "They're Amy's favorite."

"Eat!" Amy asked as she wiggled her fingers in anticipation.

"Give me a second, sweetie," Gillian answered as she sprinkled a light amount of syrup over the pieces.

"EAT!" Amy squealed demandingly.

"Hey now!" Cal said as he pointed at Amy. "None of that squalling coming from you, you can wait for a second, you're not starving!"

Amy looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Dadadadada…"

Cal rolled his eyes. "Always trying to butter me up that one is…"

"I taught her that!" Emily announced proudly.

Everyone started to fill their plates and eat when Kyle smiled. "Congratulations on your wedding. Aunt Isabel said she knew you should have been together years ago."

"Thank you," Gillian said. "Your Aunt was a special kind of person."

"She was."

"I wish I could get some of the pictures she had so I can keep them for Amy."

Kyle nodded. "My mom and I are going to start cleaning out her house next weekend. I'll gather up everything I can and send them to you."

"At's great," Cal nodded. "We want this little one to know she was loved."

Gillian looked over at Kyle. "I was wondering if you would be willing to file the paperwork needed to start Cal's adoption of Amy?"

"Sure, I'd be happy to get the papers started for you."

"So what all would be involved?" Cal inquired. The door bell rang and he rolled his eyes. "Here comes the army I cook for…"

"Dad!" Emily reprimanded after she shot up and ran to the door then walked back with a young boy. "Kyle, Liam, Liam, Kyle."

They shook hands while Gillian handed Liam a plate.

"Good morning, everyone, hi Amy!" he said as he ruffled the girl's hair.

"Iam…Iam…Iam…"

"Can you be a big girl and eat that so we can go play?" Liam asked.

"Eat!" Amy asked as she offered him a piece of her pancake.

"No…" Emily shook her head. "That's Amy's…Amy needs to eat it…Liam will get his own."

Amy looked at Emily then shoveled the pancake into her mouth. "Mmmmmmmm…."

Emily and Liam laughed at Amy's antics. Amy continued to eat as she steadily grew sillier.

Cal finally had enough when Amy threw her food at Liam.

"No, Darling, we don't throw food," he reprimanded lightly.

Gillian tried to look stern as well. "Let's get you cleaned up and out of that chair."

Emily shot to her feet. "I've got her Gill, it's my fault Liam and I got her to act up. You guys sit and enjoy the rest of your breakfast."

Liam was holding Amy in the air while Emily quickly cleaned her hands and face.

Gillian looked over at Cal who shrugged as he smirked at her. "Thanks, Em."

"No problem…" Emily said as they left and went to play with Amy in the living room.

"You have a wonderful family," Kyle said as sat back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. "And that was a fabulous meal."

"Thank you," Cal smirked proudly.

Gillian stood and started to clean up the table. "My husband is a great cook but he's an even better father."

"At's one thing I do right…well most of the time," Cal smiled affectionately.

Kyle nodded, "I'd say more than most of the time…your daughter Emily seems like a great kid. I can tell Amy is in good hands here and I'll relay that information to the judge."

"That's great news!" Gillian gushed. "Would you like more coffee?"

"No thank you, I should really get back on the road."

Kyle stood and extended his hand to Cal. "The next time I see you I hope to tell you you're a father again."

Cal chuckled. "I already am, a piece of paper won't make me love Amy any more than I already do."

"Still, it'll be nice to have it official," Gillian added as she walked over to his side.

Cal slipped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. "We're a family either way."

They followed Kyle to the back door.

"I'll be back…" Kyle grinned as he imitated _The Terminator's_ famous saying.

"Bye, Kyle safe travels…" Gillian called out.

"Later," Cal added.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Two months later it was a few days before Christmas.

Despite Gillian not feeling well lately, she and Emily had gone all out decorating the house. Cal got in the spirit as well and every night either read or told Amy elaborate Christmas stories.

Amy steadily grew more excited as she opened the windows on the candy advent calendar Emily bought her.

"Soon?" she'd ask several times a day.

"Yes…" they would always reply.

This particular morning, Cal frowned when he heard Gillian retching in the bathroom attached to their room.

She came out and climbed back in bed.

"You're still not feeling well, Darling?" Cal asked as he pulled her into his arms.

"No…" Gillian grumbled.

"Maybe you should go to the doctor."

"For the flu?"

"Luv, you've been sick for almost a month…"

"Not all the time…it comes and goes, Cal…and…with all the holiday baking and shopping, I've been eating a lot of junk lately."

"I can't believe that…" Cal teased sarcastically.

"Oh, no…." Gillian groaned as she suddenly ran from the bed and into the bathroom.

Cal grimaced as he heard her get sick again.

"Ugh…" she complained as she came out. "I'm too old to be eating chips and salsa at night."

"You and Em had the extra spicy one again, didn't you?"

"And the large margarita…" she said as she sniffled.

"Mooooommmmyyyyy!" Amy's voice sang out.

"Oh, no!"

Cal threw back the covers. "Go back to sleep, Amy and I will hang out for a few hours."

"Love you," Gillian sighed as she settled back in bed.

As she heard the faint murmurings of Cal and Amy drifting up from the kitchen, Gillian drifted back to sleep.

Cal surprised Amy and made her a pancake shaped like a snowman. He grimaced as he decorated it with whipped cream and candy sprinkles then set it down in front of her.

"Momma's?"

"No, Luv, that's Amy's."

"Yeah!"

"Yeah…starting to eat just as poorly as your mother…"

A knock sounded at the front door and Cal frowned as he walked to answer it. "Who the bloody hell can that be?" he grumbled. As he opened the door he grinned and extended his hand. "Kyle? I wasn't expecting you…"

Kyle walked past him and held up a folder. "I have an early Christmas present for your family."

"It went through?" Cal tentatively asked.

Kyle ignored him as he looked around the room. "Where's Gillian?"

"Upstairs sleeping, she's not feeling well."

"Oh," Kyle said disappointedly. "I'd hope to deliver the news to your whole family."

Cal rolled his eyes and shuffled impatiently as he held out his hand. "Is Amy mine?"

Kyle handed him the envelope. "She's yours!"

Cal was overcome with emotion as he looked over at Amy. Her face and hands were covered with whipped cream and he grinned. "Darling, this is a very happy day for Daddy!"

Amy looked at him as she shoved her sprinkle covered hands in her mouth.

Kyle stepped over and looked at Amy's plate. "A snowman pancake? Wow, you're like father of the year in my book."

"He is!" Emily said as she bounded down the steps. She grinned at Kyle. "Soooo if you're here…can I assume that Dad officially became a Dad again?"

"You can!" Kyle smiled.

Emily hugged Cal. "Congrats, I'm happy for you!"

Cal grabbed her chin and held it as he looked in her eyes. "I am too, Luv, and I really love that you've been so great about this whole thing!"

Emily shook her head dismissively. "Dad, I love Gillian and Amy and I really love you, I'm glad you're finally getting everything you've ever wanted, you deserve it!"

Cal held her tightly. "I love you to, Em!"

"Emmy kiss! Emmy kiss!" Amy squealed.

Emily looked over at Amy and laughed at her new sister then blew her a kiss. "No way, kiddo, you're a mess, I'll give you a real kiss when you're not covered in whipped cream and sprinkles!"

"Kiss…kiss…kiss!" Amy laughed.

"Messy….messy….messy!" Emily giggled as she ruffled Amy's hair. "Eat Frosty and we'll play later."

Cal frowned as he glanced upstairs. He had heard the toilet flush several more times and he realized Gillian probably had the flu. "Hey, Em, do your old man a favor?"

"I'm not detailing your car."

"No…Gill's not feeling well and I want her to get some rest. Do you think there is any chance you can take Amy somewhere today?"

Emily thought quickly as she took Amy out of her high chair. "Sure, I was just going to hang out with Liam, I'll take her with me but Dad, Gillian's been sick for like a month now, maybe we should like bleach the whole house before Amy gets sick too."

Cal nodded as he thought back over the last few weeks. "At's a good idea, Em, I'll take care of it."

Emily took Amy upstairs to clean her up and change her clothes as Kyle looked at Cal. "Sorry to hear Gillian hasn't been feeling well."

"Yeah, I love my wife to pieces but she eats like a six year old, since Amy's come to live with us, she has more excuses to snack on sugary garbage."

Kyle chuckled. "I've got a sweet tooth myself."

"Yeah, well, wait a few years and it won't agree with you anymore."

"Well, Cal, I was honored to be able to bring you this great news."

Cal took his extended hand and shook it. "And great news it was, my family can't thank you enough."

Kyle started to walk towards the door. "Will you send me pictures once in awhile; I'd love to watch Amy grow up."

Gillian came down the steps and answered him. "Nope, you can see her anytime you'd like and I'll make sure you're included on birthdays and other significant milestones."

Cal poured her a cup of coffee as she made her way to a stool at the breakfast bar. "Here you go, Darling."

"Thank you," Gillian smiled at him weakly then turned to Kyle. "Did the adoption go through?"

"It did, that's why I stopped by."

Gillian looked at Cal. "Congratulations on being a father again."

Cal kissed her temple. "As soon as you're feeling better, we'll go celebrate at the horrid pizza place with a playground in it."

"Amy will love that," Kyle added. "Let me leave and you can get something to eat then maybe get some more sleep, you look exhausted Gillian."

Kyle left as Cal took a close look at her. "He's right, you know…you do look tired, Darling."

Gillian blew out a long breath and finally admitted. "I'm exhausted."

"I can make you some scrambled eggs…"

"Cal…ugh….no…please…"

"You have to try to eat something, how about some toast?" he asked hopefully.

Gillian stood slowly and started towards the steps. "Maybe later."

Cal started to clean up the breakfast dishes when he heard Gillian cry out.

"Gill?!" he asked anxiously as he ran to her side.

Gillian almost collapsed in his arms. 

Cal quickly put his arms around her and led her back to the chair in the kitchen. "Emily!"

Emily came bounding down the steps with Amy in her arms. "What's wrong?"

"I'm taking Gillian to the emergency room."

"No," Gillian started to protest.

Emily interrupted her worriedly. "Go! I'll take care of Amy."

"Good girl," Cal smiled weakly. "Get me her coat while I grab my keys and wallet?"

"No, I'll get the keys and wallet and Gill's coat, you meet me at the car."

"Thanks."

Cal helped Gillian stand again and slowly led her to the car parked in the garage. By the time she was settled in, Emily had brought everything down and placed it in the car.

"Feel better, Gill, and don't worry, I'll take good care of Amy."

"I know you will, Em, thanks."

Cal ran around the car and nodded to Emily before he climbed in and immediately started to back out. Emily sighed as she saw him race down the street.

An hour later, Gillian had her blood drawn and gave a urine sample and she and Cal were waiting in an examining room when the doctor came in.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Boston. Can I assume it's all right to discuss anything in front of your husband?"

"Of course," Gillian said as she struggled to sit up on the bed.

"Then its good, you're here," the doctor said as she glanced at Cal.

Cal's face was pale as he scanned her face. "It's bad news then, is it?"

The doctor smiled as she looked at Gillian. "No, I don't think so…but I have to admit I'm surprised this never crossed your mind."

"What?" Gillian wondered.

"Gillian, you're pregnant."

Gillian's breath hitched in her throat as Cal put his arm around her and kissed her temple then looked at the doctor as he shook his head "That's impossible."

"Well I'm assuming your engaging in sexual relations…how many periods have you missed, Gillian?"

"I've never been regular, so I'm not sure; it's been a few months."

The doctor shrugged as she took a seat. "What do you use for protection?"

Gillian cleared her throat as she sniffled. "We don't use anything, I was tested and the results showed I was unable to have children."

Doctor Boston frowned as she shook her head and scanned the charts. "All of the tests indicate…" she stopped suddenly then stood up and walked out the door. Within a minute, she was back and looked at Gillian. "The ultrasound machine is on its way, I'd like to take some pictures to rule out a pregnancy, and then we may be able to see if there is anything else going on."

"Like a tumor or cancer?" Cal sighed worriedly.

"It's going to be okay," Gillian shrugged as she patted his arm, "let's just wait and see what it shows."

A knock sounded at the door and the machine was wheeled in. The technician came around and quickly plugged it in then looked at the doctor.

"Gillian, Amanda here is going to start now," she said as she discreetly opened the lower portion of Gillian's gown.

The technician started the test as she and the doctor looked at the screen.

"Gillian was told that she was infertile," Dr. Boston said.

Amanda eyes showed surprise then she frowned as she looked at the screen and continued to slowly move the wand around.

Both Amanda and the doctor caught their breath at the same time.

Cal pointed at both of them. "What's that look about? Right there, that one! What the bloody hell is it showing you?"

Amanda glanced at Dr. Boston who sighed. "I'll do it, thanks."

Dr. Boston looked over at Cal. "You might want to take a seat next to your wife," she said as she turned the screen to face Gillian and Cal.

Cal settled next to Gillian and reached for her hand. He leaned his forehead against hers as he looked deeply into her eyes. "Whatever it is, Darling, we'll face it together."

Gillian smiled weakly as she squeezed his hand and turned to look at the screen.

"This is…"

"A bloody heart beating!" Cal gasped.

"It is…" Dr. Boston confirmed. "You've been through this before?"

"It's been awhile. I have an eighteen year old."

Dr. Boston nodded as she turned back to the screen. "And this is…"

"A hand…a tiny hand!" Gillian cried out through tears.

Dr. Boston laughed. "Yep, and this little one seems to be sucking its thumb."

Gillian looked at Cal. "I don't know how this happened!"

Cal chuckled and kissed her. "I'll show you later on…" he suddenly frowned as he looked at the doctor. "What did you mean when you said _this_ little one?"

The doctor grinned as she nodded at Amanda who moved the wand to Gillian's other side. "Well….this little one is not sucking its thumb!"

Cal swiped a hand across his face as he swore. "Bloody hell!"

Gillian looked at the doctor worriedly. "Twins?!"

"Yep!"

"How?"

"Well, I hate to refer to your age, but it's not uncommon for women in their late thirties to have twins."

"So I went from being infertile to carrying twins in the space of a half an hour!"

"Darling, who told you that you were infertile?" Cal wondered.

"Alec and I had tests done; the results came in the mail…"

Dr. Boston shrugged. "Well, I'm guessing that the lab made a tremendous mistake and mixed up your tests with someone else's."

"Clearly!" Cal grimaced as he stood and began to pace the room.

Gillian frowned worriedly at him. "I sorry, Cal."

The doctor felt the tension in the room and glanced over at Gillian. "Um…I'll leave you two alone but…" she said as she tore the pictures from the machine. "…here are the pictures of your two babies. The images indicate that you're almost though your first trimester. The babies look fine but you need to make an appointment immediately with your regular doctor and get started on prenatal vitamins as soon as you can. I can't stress to you how important this is…"

"I'll call today!" Gillian reassured her.

The doctor excused herself and Amanda and immediately left the room.

Cal was quiet as Gillian got up and started to get dressed.

"Cal…"

Cal ignored her and was waving his arms around as he had a conversation with himself.

Gillian felt like her heart was breaking as she began to cry. "I don't know what you want me to do…I am so so sorry…"

Her sobs finally registered in Cal's racing mind and he turned to face her. He was immediately contrite as he pulled her to his chest. "I'm a bleeding idiot, Darling!"

"I know this isn't something we planned on but…"

Cal cupped her cheeks in the palms of his hands and wiped the tears with his thumbs. "No it isn't but that doesn't mean it isn't fantastic news."

"Really?"

Cal kissed her deeply then pulled away. "Yeah, really….I'm just a bit overwhelmed…I mean within five months or so we have to have space for two more people in our house! We just bleeding got Amy settled in…"

"Now that we found out about the babies do you regret adopting Amy?"

"Course not, at's not what I meant…I love our daughter but we're going to have three little ones under the age of four…"

"So…you're wishing Amy wasn't with us?"

"No!" Cal stated emphatically. "But we're going to be outnumbered…"

Gillian sniffled as she began to giggle. "They're going to be little; I think we stand a chance."

Cal shook his head. "Yeah and then they'll be bleeding teenagers!"

"It'll be awhile before that happens…"

"I'll be over sixty!"

"We'll keep you young at heart."

Cal grinned devilishly. "I was planning on making love to you every night for the rest of our lives!"

"So…"

"Well, after this bit of news, we're going to have to use birth control."

"Yeah we are…"

Cal frowned at the look on her face. "Hey, what was that thought? You're not thinking about more kids after this are you?"

Gillian's eyes widened. "No, I won't be greedy, if I can carry these two successfully and I have Amy and Emily, I think my life will be complete."

"Let's go get that Dr.'s appointment made then go home and tell the girls."

On the car ride over, Gillian came up with an idea and shared it with Cal, who readily agreed to their surprise.

"On Christmas morning, Amy woke early then raced into Emily's room. "Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa…"

Emily groaned but rolled over and looked at her little sister. "Did you ask Dad and Mom if he came?"

"Santa, Santa, Santa, Santa!" Amy gushed as she pulled on Emily's hands.

"All right! I'm getting up! Go get Mom and Dad up and I'll meet you downstairs."

Amy raced from the room as Emily made her way to the bathroom.

"Santa!" Amy screamed as she raced into her parent's room and jumped on the bed.

"Bloody hell!" Cal groaned aloud.

"Hell! Hell! Hell!" Amy mimicked.

"Nice!" Gillian grimaced as she looked at Cal.

He looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry, Darling," he said as he hopped from the bed and grabbed Amy. "Do you think you were a good girl and Santa came?"

"Santa!" Amy screeched again.

"Let's go see," Gillian said as she slipped into a robe.

Cal picked up Amy and carried her down the steps then headed into the kitchen to pour them coffee. He had three mugs in his hands as Emily came down the steps.

"A coffee pot with a timer was the best investment you ever made!" she said thankfully as she reached for a cup.

Cal kissed her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Luv."

"Merry Christmas, Dad!"

Cal handed a cup to Gillian who smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Are you up for this, Darling?" he worried.

"I'm fine right now."

"Okay."

Emily started to hand out the presents and Amy tore hers open excitedly. It wasn't long before she had gone through her stack and was quietly playing with her new doll.

Emily had a few token presents then gasped in surprise when she opened up a card that contained a credit card in her name. "I promise I will be responsible with this!"

"At would be nice, Em, don't let me down, yeah?"

"I won't, Dad!"

Gillian glanced at Cal nervously as he reached behind him and brought out one last box. "Em, this is for you and Amy."

Emily grabbed it and made a curious face before she reached for Amy. "Come here, kid, this is for both of us."

Amy tore the wrapping paper and looked inside. Emily reached in and brought out a pink t-shirt that said _Kid #1_ on it. The second shirt was also pink and said _Kid #2_ on it and she laughed and showed it to Amy. "I think this is yours." She frowned when she reached in and brought out two more t-shirts in yellow that said _Kid #3_ and _Kid #4_. She looked over at Cal and Gillian with confusion.

Gillian had tears in her eyes as she shrugged. "I was told I couldn't have children."

Emily frowned when she saw how upset this was making Gillian. "So…you guys are adopting more kids?"

Cal leaned forward in his seat. "No, Darling, Gillian was told she was infertile but the doctors were wrong."

"You're pregnant?!" Emily gasped.

"I am." Gillian said worriedly.

Emily leapt to her feet and hugged Gillian. "I am so happy for you!"

"Really, Em?!" Gillian wondered.

"Really…but twins ? When I leave for school you two are going to be outnumbered!" she giggled.

"Better take control early so they don't turn out like this one!" Cal joked.

Gillian rolled her eyes as she poked him. "We should be so lucky!"

"Is this why you've been so sick? How far along are you? Do you know if its boys or girls or one of each? What are you going to name them? Where are they going to sleep?"

"Em, breathe!" Cal rolled his eyes at her. "Yes it's why she's been sick, about three months, no to boys or girls so no to names yet and I have no idea!"

"Are we going to move?"

Cal shrugged. "We have no idea, Em, we just found out!"

Gillian patted her hand. "Em, we will always have a place for you no matter where we go so please don't worry."

Cal frowned. He realized Gillian had immediately guessed at Em's fears. "That's right Darling, it's always been me and you….we're just adding a few more to the mix…you can share me can't you?"

Emily giggled. "Nope…they can have you! I did all the work breaking you in…I'll be away and when I come home for weekends or holidays we can be friends instead of you being my boss…"

She looked uncertain and was waiting for Cal to say otherwise but he smiled. "Yep…I reckon I've done all the damage I can do to you."

Emily laughed aloud and stood up. "I'll only be here a few months after the twins are born. Amy and I can share a room until I move out and the twins can have my old room."

Gillian held up her hand to stop her. "The twins will be in our room the first few weeks anyway. We have room in our bedroom to put the bassinets and after you move out we'll change things around."

Cal was disturbed by this news and looked away but not before Emily saw the look and frowned. "Whatever…anything you decide is fine by me. I really don't mind sleeping with Amy for a few weeks and it will give her time to adjust to her new bedroom."

Gillian smiled and came over to offer her a hug. "Emily you have been wonderful about this whole thing. I am so sorry everything happened so fast."

She had started to cry as Emily hugged her bag. "Um…its okay, Gillian, really, don't cry!" She looked at Cal for help.

Cal walked over and took Gillian in his arms. "Come on hormone lady…go get dressed and I'll start breakfast."

"Okay…" Gillian sniffled as she turned towards the steps and headed upstairs.

Cal blew out a long breath as he came forward and hugged Emily. "It's going to be a long pregnancy…"

Emily giggled. "It's almost half over and once Gillian gets through the next few weeks, she'll be back to her old self."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Cal and Gillian were married at the Lightman Group by a Justice of the Peace. Their employees and families were invited to help celebrate as well as some close friends.

The rest of Gillian's pregnancy was uneventful. They decided not to learn the sex of their twins as Gillian wanted to be surprised although Cal knew it was in part out of fear that something was going to go wrong with the pregnancy.

The new Lightman family had settled into a routine and even though their time was filled getting Emily ready to move to California and buying things for the coming twins, they managed to spend a lot of time together going to the park and on long walks. Amy was blossoming under their love and care and was talking up a storm. Gillian was thinking about putting her in preschool in the fall but needed to work on potty training before she could attend.

Cal buckled down and took on more cases and even started taking on the ones he hated. Because of it, the cash flow had greatly increased and they added on more employees. Loker and Torres took on a more managerial position and Cal and Gillian often let them handle their own crew of people.

Gillian was eating tremendous amounts of food to feed the growing twins and the extra weight late in the pregnancy had started to become a factor. She no longer did investigative work and had taken to spending her time either in the lab giving her insight into cases or at her desk handling the company's accounting.

Cal stayed close by her side and often times had to help her rise from her chair or one of the sofas in her office.

One day, Gillian waddled into his office.

"Cal?"

"Yeah…"

His eyes were closely following the computer screen in front of him and Gillian knew he was distracted and had no idea he had answered her.

"Cal!" she asked more forcefully.

"What?!" Cal snapped angrily then blushed when he looked up and realized it was her. "I'm sorry, Darling…what is it?"

"Cal…I don't feel right…"

Cal frowned and shot to his feet and walked over to her. "How do you mean?"

"I don't know, I can't explain it…"

"Do you want to go see the doctor?"

"I don't know…yes…no…I guess…maybe I should…"

Cal grabbed his keys then put his arm around her and gently guided her down the hall. "Loker! Torres!" When they stuck their heads out of the lab door, Cal nodded at Gillian. "We're going to the doctor…hold down the fort!"

At their worried glances Gillian smiled weakly. "I'm fine…I just feel kind of funny."

Cal and Gillian walked into the doctor's office and waited a short time before they were admitted to a room. Cal helped Gillian change into a gown then climb onto the table before he sat in a chair next to the table.

Gillian started to cry nervously. "Something's wrong Cal, I just know it, something's changed!"

Cal stood by her side then took her hand. "Its going to be fine, Gill, let's just stay strong until we know…"

Doctor Williams walked in with a few minutes. "Hey you two…what's going on?"

Gillian sniffled and related everything she was feeling then sniffled again as she looked at the doctor. "So is something wrong?"

The doctor nodded. "Lean back and let me check things out, okay?"

Gillian complied and the doctor did her exam then leaned back. "Well…we're heading to the hospital!"

"No!" Gillian started to sob uncontrollably.

"What's wrong, Doc?" Cal begged as he held his wife.

The doctor quickly became concerned at their attitudes. "Nothing! Gillian's in active labor!"

Cal felt the relief wash over him as he lifted Gillian's chin so he could see her eyes. "Nothing's wrong Darling, the twins are coming."

Gillian looked worriedly at the doctor. "Isn't it too early?"

The doctor took her hand. "A few weeks…but remember we talked about how twins usually come early. That's the only reason we're heading to the hospital. I want to be ready to give them all the help they need!"

"Okay." Gillian sniffled as she scooted to the end of the bed. Cal helped her stand then Gillian suddenly gasped. "Uh oh!"

The doctor followed Gillian's gaze and laughed. "Your water broke…so…you just got yourself a ride in an ambulance." She called out the door to her nurse. "Call an ambulance please…Dr. Lightman's water broke …get her a change of gowns and something absorbent for the ambulance ride."

Cal was grinning wildly when she walked back in. "Cal, you can ride to the hospital with your wife. I'm leaving right now and will meet you there."

"Thanks Doc!" Cal smiled.

"Oh God!" Gillian called out as she grabbed for her abdomen.

The doctor put her hand on Gillian's belly and sighed. "The real contractions have started…" She opened the door to call out but the ambulance crew was already walking in the door. "In here guys…" she held the door as the swept in and got Gillian loaded on the gurney. "Okay, I'll meet you there."

Cal held Gillian's hand as they rode together in the back of the ambulance.

Gillian was so excited she had a hard time settling down. Cal was super supportive and finally got her to relax by asking her questions about work.

In record time, Gillian's contractions increased and she finally looked angrily at Cal. "Can you read me now?! Yeah?! If you ask me one more fucking question about the pitch in someone's voice, I'll divorce you!"

She gasped in pain as Cal let her squeeze his hand. The contraction ended and she leaned against him. "Cal…I'm so sorry, honey…I don't want to be a biiiiiiii…."

"Breath Darling, breathe…come on now….there you go…" Cal coached her through another contraction and Gillian fell back against the bed.

"I can't do it anymore! I'm so tired…"

Cal sighed. "Got no choice Luv, if I could do it for you I would but this one's all on you…"

The doctor came in and checked Gillian. "Wow that was fast…you're at a seven already!"

"Yeah….so three more...?" Gillian asked.

"Yep…" the doctor replied as she checked the baby monitors. "And the twins look like they're in good shape."

Cal smiled. "See Darling, you're doing great!"

Within the hour, Gillian was in the delivery room and pushing. Their first son Brandon Robert was born at 7:28 p.m. and weighed 5lbs 8 ounces and their second son Dalton Michael was born eight minutes later and weighed 5lbs 2 ounces.

Emily was pacing in the hallway while Loker and Torres read old crappy magazines.

Cal walked out looking tired but he was grinning widely.

"Before you ask Heidi is watching Amy….are they're here?!" Emily raced up to him and jumped into his arms.

"Yep, Brandon and Dalton are doing fabulous!" Cal announced.

"Oh my God! I have two brothers!"

Loker and Torres had overheard and were both smiling. "Congratulations!"

they said simultaneously.

Cal grinned. "Thank you very much! Gill's doing great too although she's bloody exhausted!"

"I bet!" Emily sympathized. "When can we see them?"

Cal nodded towards the viewing window and they walked up just as the twins were being wheeled into the nursery.

Cal held up a card to the nurse and she read his last name then grinned as she pointed down at the two portable cribs. She and another nurse wheeled them closer to the windows and all three of them oohed and aahed after their first look.

"I'm in love…" Emily grinned.

"They're beautiful," Ria gushed as she patted Cal on the back. "Good job, boss!"

Loker raised his brows when Cal looked at him. "They look like miniature versions of Winston Churchill!"

Cal laughed out loud. "Better not let Gillian hear you say that; she'll have your job!"

Emily laughed as she playfully slapped Loker's arm. "All babies look like Winston Churchill but my little brothers are an adorable version! Dad, which one is which?"

Cal frowned. "I have no idea, Luv, they're bloody identical…"

"Well…" Ria stepped forward. "There has to be something…" She grew quiet again as everyone looked on.

The nurse saw their faces and smiled knowingly. She pointed to the cards at the top of the crib showing the baby's names.

Cal smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "So Brandon has the blue cap and Dalton has the green one."

"We should get hats with the letters on them or no one will be able to tell who's who," Emily suggested.

Cal nodded as he blew out a long breath. "I'm going to check back on Gill then probably head home. Can you get Amy for me and bring her home?"

"Nope, Heidi said she and Paul were going to keep Amy overnight so you and Gillian can spend some time alone with the babies."

Cal yawned tiredly. "That's nice, maybe I'll just stay here then and crash in Gill's room, the boys are on an "on demand" feeding schedule and I want to help in any way I can."

Emily kissed him on the cheek. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Goodnight, Darling, I love you!"

"Love you too, Dad."

Loker pointed towards the door. "Yeah, we'll head out too…"

Torres stepped forward and hugged Cal warmly. "Loker and I will cover everything the rest of this week, you and Gill can concentrate on the twins for awhile."

Cal nodded. "Great, you two call if you need anything! Okay?"

Both of them nodded as they turned and left.

The next afternoon, Gillian and the boys were all doing great so the doctor released them to go home. Four hours later, Gillian was sitting in a recliner holding Brandon and Emily was on the couch holding Dalton.

Cal walked in the back door with a laughing Amy. He had picked her up from Heidi's and taken her to the park then bought her an ice cream before bringing her home.

He carried her into the living room.

"Mommy!" she squealed as she wriggled out of Cal's arms.

"Be careful, little one, mind your baby brothers, yeah?" Cal warned as she took off towards Gillian.

Gillian smiled warmly at her. "Hi Baby, Momma missed you so much!"

"Baby?!" Amy asked wide eyed as she looked down at Brandon.

"Yes, this is your brother Brandon" Gillian answered then nodded towards Emily. "And that's your other brother Dalton…"

"Brudder…two of dem?"

"Uh huh…but we have to be very careful with them because they're just babies."

"I kiss?"

Gillian smiled. "Yes, you can kiss him."

"Hi brudder," she said as she kissed Brandon then turned and walked over to Emily. "Hi udder brudder…" she kissed Dalton as well.

"Mommy read book?"

Knowing Amy needed some time with Gillian, Cal came over and took Brandon. "Go pick a book out, Luv…"

"Yea…" Amy squealed as she raced to the shelf and grabbed a few books.

Gillian winced as Amy roughly climbed onto her lap. She looked up at Cal who was about to say something to Amy. "It's okay…" she assured as she snuggled Amy to her chest and began to read.

She was on book three when Amy finally fell asleep. The boys were asleep in their bassinets and Cal moved Amy to the loveseat then covered her up with a light blanket.

Gillian went to the bathroom and when she came back Cal was stretched out on the couch. She snuggled against him and he pulled her to his chest and kissed her temple.

They sat quietly looking at their kids.

"Pretty lucky, huh?" Cal whispered.

"We are so….blessed…we have it all now, don't we?"

Cal chuckled. "Yeah, we do."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Four weeks later, Gillian's Mom came over unannounced to spend the weekend.

"Mom?!" Gillian gasped in surprise when she answered the door.

Overnight bag tucked safely under her arm, Gillian's mom blew past her. "Hi, Honey…"

Cal stepped out from the kitchen and blinked in surprise. "Mom?"

Emily bounded down the steps and smiled. "Hi Grandma! Glad you're finally here!"

Cal frowned at Emily as Gillian shook her head with confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Arlene grabbed her daughter's arm and dragged her towards the mirror then stopped her in front of it. "Cal, come here!" she ordered. When Cal walked over, she pointed. "Stand next to your wife!" Cal shrugged and did as asked.

"Now look!" she ordered.

Cal and Gillian each looked into the mirror.

"Ugh!" Gillian groaned.

"What?" a baffled Cal asked.

"Really, Dad?!" Emily gasped. "Look at you two!"

"We're new parents…of twins!" Gillian protested.

"No! You're business professionals who run a million dollar company who happen to have two kids!"

"Still not getting the point here…" Cal stated.

"Dad!" Emily groaned as she stepped towards him. "What's this?"

"Brandon spit up on me…"

"And this?" she asked as she pointed at a crusty spot on his shirt sleeve.

"Dalton's nose was running…" he answered.

Arlene put her arm around her daughter and held up a strand of her hair. "When was the last time you showered?"

"I…" Gillian started to answer then realized she had no idea and began to cry. "I have no idea! The boys have had colds and are up every two hours and….I am such a failure…"

"You are not a failure!" Cal spat out as he pulled her into his arms and looked at Arlene and Emily angrily. "Is there a reason you two decided to make us feel like crap?"

Arlene sighed. "Where's Amy?"

"Taking her nap…" Emily answered.

"How long do we have?"

Gillian sniffled. "She'll sleep for another hour maybe…why?"

Arlene ignored her and turned to Emily. "Can you please go change your parent's sheets and bring down everything up there that is dirty and needs to be washed."

"Sure Grandma!" Emily smiled and raced upstairs.

Arlene put her hands on her hips and stared at them. "Cal, you're always kind of scruffy but I'd say you're about two weeks overdue for a shave, upstairs now! I want a clean face followed by a long shower and clean clothes!"

"You can't tell…"

"Go!" Arlene narrowed her eyes and pointed at the steps.

Cal looked at Gillian who shrugged. "She means business…"

Cal kissed Arlene's cheek. "Thanks, Darling!" then headed upstairs.

Arlene led Gillian into the kitchen and pointed at the breast pump. "Pump those puppies and give me something to feed the boys their next meal!"

"Mom!" Gillian laughed at the crass talk from her mother.

Arlene opened the refrigerator door and looked inside. "Do you have any milk stored?"

"Are you kidding me? All they ever do is eat! Every two hours they're latched on to me!"

Arlene rolled her eyes. "Did you buy baby cereal yet?"

Gillian nodded. "Yeah, it's in the pantry but the pediatrician hasn't…"

"Don't care…" Arlene said as she walked over to the pantry to find the box.

"Mom! I don't know…maybe they're still too young…the books all say…"

Arlene gave her a look of disgust. "I raised three kids without a damn book and all of you are healthy and strong! Your Grandmother raised the seven of us without a book and your Great Grandmother raised twelve without a book!"

"Mom…"

"Pump! Then get upstairs and take a shower or bathe…anything to get baby puke out of your hair then crawl into bed next to your exhausted husband and the two of you had better not come down here for at least six hours!"

"Mom…"

"That's an order, Gillian!"

Gillian bit her quivering lip and pumped as much as she could then headed upstairs to take her shower.

She passed Emily in the hall and smiled weakly. "Your idea or Grandma's?"

"Grandma's but it was after I told her how bad you two looked!"

A freshly shaved and showered Cal came out of the bathroom. "Your turn, Darling…" he said as he kissed Gillian on the cheek then turned to Emily. "Thanks, Luv." Then shuffled down the hallway and walked into their bedroom and shut the door.

Emily pointed at the bathroom door as she looked at Gillian. "Go!"

Gillian walked into the bathroom and stripped down the stepped into the shower. Feeling marginally better, she chose to dry her hair for the first time in over a month instead of letting it air dry.

Exhausted she climb into bed next to Cal.

"Cal, there's music playing…" she pointed out.

Cal pulled her close. "Em said I couldn't turn it off…she said it would drown out the noises…"

Gillian's answer was a sigh and within minutes they were sound asleep.

Arlene and Emily cleaned the house until Amy woke up. Amy wanted to eat so while Arlene fed her Emily vacuumed the bottom level of the house.

Afterwards, Emily took Amy outside to play while Arlene continued to do the laundry and started dinner.

The boys woke up and Arlene called Emily back inside. The each held a twin and fed him while Amy watched a Disney cartoon and played with dolls on the small table in the room.

Arlene spread out a large blanket then put Brandon in the middle of it. "Come put Dalton down next to his brother."

Emily smiled and did as she asked. "What are we doing?"

Arlene shrugged. "Just letting them kick and spend some time stretching and moving around. We'll flip them over in a few minutes and give them some tummy time too."

Excited about the new game, Amy scooted onto the blanket and leaned over talking and playing gently with her little brothers. They two boys stared in fascination at her and cooed and smiled back as she happily entertained them for a few minutes. She lost interest and went back to playing so Emily sat on the floor with the boys and moved their arms and legs all around stretching out their limbs.

Arlene went to check on dinner then came back out. "Dinner will be ready in two hours. Your Mom and Dad will have slept five hours by then so if they aren't still dead to the world we'll wake them up to eat."

"How does the nursery look?" Arlene asked.

Emily shrugged. "I don't know, I had just come home when you walked in."

"Well, let's go check it out…"

"What about the twins?" Emily glanced at her brothers.

Arlene shrugged. "Well, unless they've learned to crawl in the last few minutes they aren't going anywhere. They'll be fine!"

She and Emily walked upstairs and realized the nursery needed very little cleaning. Arlene grabbed all of the bedding and headed downstairs while Emily emptied the diaper pail and straightened up a few things then brought the garbage and put it into the garage.

Over the course of the next hour and a half, Arlene and Emily kept the laundry going and played with the three little ones.

About fifteen minutes before Emily was going to wake them up, Cal stumbled down the steps. Emily looked up at him as he wiped his eyes.

"You look marginally better…"

Cal sighed. "I feel a little better...what smells so good?"

Arlene patted his arm as she walked passed him. "I cooked a roast with some potatoes and asparagus and some fresh bread!"

"Sounds wonderful…" he said as he grabbed for the breast pump. "Gillian's uncomfortable…when did the boys last eat?"

Arlene started to answer. "About a half hour ago so she should…"

Cal turned automatically and headed upstairs again.

"He's still tired," Emily pointed out.

Arlene nodded. "Yep, but they'll have a good meal tonight, then we'll give the little ones a bath and let them have some rice cereal. Their little bellies will be full and they'll sleep through the night."

Emily sighed. "I'll believe it when I see it!"

Gillian and Cal came down with bags of milk and put them in the refrigerator.

"Sit!" Arlene ordered as she pointed at the table.

"I should check…"

"Sit!" Emily tried to muster Arlene's look of authority.

"I'm still too tired to fight with them…" Cal said as he led Gillian to the table.

Emily put Brandon and Dalton in their swings then helped Amy get settled in her high chair.

Arlene served the meal and then she and Emily filled them in on what they accomplished over the afternoon.

Stuffed with food, Cal leaned back in his chair. "Mom that was wonderful!"

"Grandma makes the best roast!" Emily agreed.

"More!" Amy begged as she pointed at the place her potatoes had been.

Emily gave her another serving as Amy giggled happily.

"We can't thank you two enough," Gillian said quietly.

Arlene kissed her daughter's temple as she got up from her seat. "I made dessert too!"

Cal groaned. "I suppose its some kind of chocolate goo?"

"Mom, I can't eat chocolate the boys will get it through my milk and…"

"Oh for Pete's sake…I have some knowledge of babies you know."

"Strawberry cheesecake?" Emily squealed.

"Me cake!" Amy shouted. "Me cake!"

"Grandma made enough for everyone, Amy, pipe down!" Emily lightly reprimanded.

She was smiling at Amy who laughed happily. "Gamma!"

"Amy!" Arlene laughed as she served the cake.

Arlene started to clean up. Gillian stood automatically to help when Emily shot to her feet. "Nope! Grandma cooked, I'll clean up; you two spend time with the boys!"

Cal and Gillian looked at each other then shuffled into the living room. They each grabbed a twin out of their swing then sat down side by side on the couch and played with them.

Arlene came in with a tea tray and poured them each a cup then sat in the chair to take a break. Emily came in and played with Amy while everyone visited.

A few hours later, Amy was yawning.

"Time for a bath?" Arlene announced.

"Amy baf! Amy baf!" Amy squealed.

"She does love her baths!" Gillian laughed.

"Come on kid!" Emily said as she took her sister's hand. "Let's go…"

"I'll do it, Em," Cal offered.

"Nope! I got it covered! Relax."

A half hour later, the girls came back downstairs. Amy's hair was slightly damp but she looked cozy and comfortable in new pajamas.

She walked over to Cal with a book. "Daddy read?" she asked hopefully.

Cal grinned. "I would love to read to you, Darling!"

Emily took Brandon from him as Arlene held out her arms. "Can I snuggle with that little cutie pie?"

Emily grinned. "Sure Grandma! Can I call Liam?"

"Yep! You sure can!"

"Great, I'll come back in a little bit!"

Emily took off with her phone and Cal and Gillian read books to Amy.

Amy's eyes were starting to close when Emily came back in the room. "Hey kid, it's time for nigh night!"

Amy yawned loudly then reached for Gillian. "Mommy!"

Gillian held her tightly as she kissed her. "I love you Amy!"

"Amy!" Arlene said sternly. "Your Mommy needs to rest, go with your sister!"

"K…Gamma!" Amy said as she stuck out her bottom lip.

"You're gonna trip over that lip!" Cal said as he pushed on her bottom lip. Amy started to giggle as he laughed and kissed her. "Goodnight, little one!"

Emily took Amy upstairs and read her a book but Amy had already fallen asleep.

Arlene looked over at Gillian. "I should probably get these two bathed!"

"I can help…" Gillian pleaded.

"Okay, but its going to be in the kitchen sink. No sense in hauling them upstairs to bring them back down here to feet them."

Arlene and Gillian each carried a twin into the kitchen. While Gillian held Brandon, Arlene quickly bathed Dalton while Cal walked over to the laundry baskets and got clothing together for each of them.

Arlene handed Cal a towel swaddled Dalton. "Twin one ready to be dressed!"

Cal grinned and took Dalton to the table and quickly got him dressed.

When he was finishing, Arlene came over. "Twin two is ready!"

Cal handed Gillian Dalton then quickly dressed Brandon.

Arlene set up two seats on the table and buckled Dalton in his then nodded to Cal to do the same for Brandon. She draped huge bibs over each of them.

"Now you two pick a kid and sit in front of him!" Arlene ordered as she brought over to bowls of food. "Feed em!"

Emily came down and watched as laughter was shared as the boy's heartily ate the food that was given to them. Gillian was surprised when they cleaned their bowls.

"Isn't that too much for the first time?" she asked.

Arlene rolled her eyes. "You've got to healthy boys. Now I would prefer if you nurse them now so I can save their milk for an emergency in the middle of the night, can you do that?"

"Of course…"

"Okay, you go on the couch and get settled and Cal and I will bring them in."

Gillian got settled and reached for Dalton.

"What are you doing?" Arlene asked.

Gillian looked confused. "Feeding Dalton first."

"Well, you've got two of those feeders, don't you…use them!" Arlene answered.

"Mom I can't…"

"Oh for Pete's sake Gillian! Your brother was ten months old when you were born. You can feed two kids at one time!"

Cal shrugged helplessly and helped Gillian get Brandon to latch on.

He and Gillian each looked at the kids as they suckled until they fell asleep.

Emily had been on the phone then came down. "Is it time to put those two to bed?"

"They just finished," Gillian said wearily.

Arlene took Dalton while Emily took Brandon. "Let's get these little peanuts up to their cribs."

"Okay…Grandma, I changed the sheets on my bed for you, I'll sleep on the pull out sofa in the nursery."

"Don't be silly, I want to be there if one of the boys wakes up then I can decide if they really need to be up or if they need their little butts patted until they fall asleep again."

As they were walking the boys up the steps, Cal and Gillian overheard their conversation float down to them.

Cal looked at Gillian and grabbed her hand. "Are you all right with all of this?"

Gillian sighed. "Cal, I feel like the fog lifted a little bit this afternoon; we've both been on overdrive for a month! My Mom would never do anything to hurt us so it may be out of the norm by today's standards but she's right, she raised three of us and everyone's healthy so…" she looked at him and he "read" her thoughts automatically.

"I have no problem with her Gill, if it got us a few hours of sleep it was well worth it!"

Arlene came down and stared at them. "Em and I put your three babies to sleep and you two are on the couch yammering? Go upstairs and climb into bed. Turn on the TV if you have to, but go rest!"

Cal stood and reached for Gillian's hand. Gillian grabbed it then they headed upstairs. Gillian brushed her teeth first then climbed into bed.

Cal was right behind her then climbed into bed next to her. "TV?" he asked.

He looked over and saw that she was already asleep. He flipped on the music and snuggled next to her and promptly fell asleep.

The twins slept for five hours then fussed until Arlene changed them then patted them on their backs until they fell back asleep.

Two hours later they started to fuss again and Arlene sighed as she looked at her watch. "Seven hours isn't a bad start…let's go see your Mom…" she said as she started to get out of bed.

"Mom…" Gillian asked as she knocked lightly then peeked inside.

"I bet you're ready to feed these two?"

"Yeah, I'm really uncomfortable!"

"Prop yourself up on that bed then," Arlene instructed. "Let's do both of them as the same time again."

Gillian lay on the bed and propped two pillows on either side then waited as Arlene handed her one boy at a time.

Cal peeked in the doorway as well. "Everything all right, Darling?"

Arlene opened the door wider. "Come sit with your wife and help her out when she needs it, I'm going to get dressed and start breakfast!"

Arlene left and Cal settled down at the end of the bed and watched. "You're beautiful, Darling!"

Gillian chuckled. "I wasn't beautiful yesterday?"

Cal grinned. "Well, I have to admit the haggard look was wearing thin…"

Gillian laughed. "Yeah, and that's the longest I've ever seen your beard get!"

"I have to admit, I feel loads better! How on earth are we ever going to repay your Mum?"

"I have no idea!" Gillian sighed.

The boys had finished and fallen asleep again and Cal put each of them back in their crib.

"Daddy?!" Amy asked from the hallway as she pushed her messy hair out of her eyes.

Cal grinned and held out his arms. "Good morning, Darling, did you sleep well?"

"Uh, huh!" Amy said as he picked her up and hugged her.

Gillian came out of the nursery.

"Mommy!" Amy squealed.

"Shhhh…." Gillian reprimanded as she pointed at the cribs.

"Brudders nigh nigh?"

"Yes!" Gillian smiled warmly. "Are you getting hungry? Grandma is making breakfast."

"Gamma, gamma, gamma," Amy called as she slid from Cal's arm to head downstairs.

Cal and Gillian followed as Amy leapt into Arlene's arms.

"Gamma!"

"Well someone slept good…" Arlene chuckled as she pried Amy's arms from around her neck. She lifted up Amy's shirt and stared at her belly. "Is that belly empty? Should Grandma fill it up with pancakes?"

"Cake!" Amy squealed.

Cal picked Amy up and roughly blew a raspberry on her belly and Amy started to laugh. "No cake, Luv….pancake!"

"Cake!" Amy squealed.

"She's your daughter for sure, Darling!" Cal said to Gillian as he got Amy settled in her chair.

Gillian rolled her eyes as she smirked and sat down. "And that's a bad thing?!"

Arlene set a big plate of pancakes and bacon on the table. She quickly cut one up for Amy then put it on her tray. "Eat up!" she said as she handed Amy a fork. "Like this," she showed her.

Amy held the fork and scrunched up her face with concentration as she tried to imitate her parents.

"Mom she's not that great with utensils yet…" Gillian pointed out.

"Yeah, well at last she's holding one and trying…" Arlene pointed out as she poured them both coffee.

Emily came in from the garage and Cal frowned. "You're up this early on a Sunday?"

"Grandma asked me to get the stroller ready."

"Stroller?" Gillian asked.

"Yep!" After breakfast you two are going on a long walk with your babies!"

"Mom, it's too cold outside!" Gillian protested.

"It's going to be sixty degrees by 11:00 a.m. You can put the boys in the stroller and bundle them up then take Amy to the park."

Cal nodded. "That's sounds like a great idea actually."

"The park is four blocks away!" Gillian frowned as she looked at Amy.

"Good, everyone can use the fresh air and a healthy walk never hurt anyone…" Arlene pointed out.

"If Amy gets tired she can ride on my shoulders!" Emily offered.

"What if you get tired?" Gillian asked.

"Liam is coming, he'll help."

"What am I chopped liver?" Cal asked.

"You're old!" Emily pointed out. "Besides, I thought you could walk next to Gillian…it's been a long time since she was able to do a lot too…"

Cal made a face then looked at Gillian. "What do you think?"

"Sure when the boys wake up I'll feed them and we'll leave."

"Go pump!" Arlene ordered. "We can feed them at the park in the fresh air!"

The whole family walked to the park and spent over two hours there. Amy was exhausted and the boys had stayed awake almost the whole time.

After the walk home, Gillian nursed the boys again and put them to bed. Amy ate a quick lunch and fell asleep on the couch.

Gillian pointed upstairs. "I'm pooped. I think I'll lie down for awhile too!"

Cal nodded. "I'll join you if you don't mind."

That afternoon everyone took a four hour nap.

Arlene made another wonderful dinner. Then she and Emily made dinners for the next two nights.

Later that night, Cal and Gillian looked one hundred percent better.

"We haven't had this much sleep in months!" Gillian gushed happily at her mother.

"We can't thank you enough, Mom." Cal agreed.

"Any time… You have one more night, I'm going home tomorrow morning but now that you two are rested up and the twins slept almost all the way through their first night…you two can get a handle on this!"

That night, everyone played with the kids and after the park excursion earlier in the day, they were exhausted.

It was another early night for everyone and once again the boys slept through the night. This time it was close to nine hours. Gillian was so uncomfortable she had to pump the milk so when they finally did wake up. Cal and Arlene fed them while Gillian took a shower.

Gillian came down and Cal took a quick shower. Arlene made a huge plate of scrambled eggs with bacon and toast.

Emily raced down the steps. "I'm late!"

Arlene made her a quick breakfast sandwich then hugged her as she grabbed for her book bag.

"Thanks for your help this weekend Emily!"

Emily hugged her back. "You're welcome. Thanks for including me in your plan to bring the zombies back to life!"

Emily grabbed the breakfast sandwich and raced out the door.

Arlene chuckled. "At least she took the sandwich, I could never get you to take yours…" she said pointedly to Gillian.

"What? I ate…"

"Yeah, those damn pop tart things you'd get your Dad to buy you!"

Cal laughed aloud as he ate his breakfast. "Mum, you have no idea how grateful we all are that you did this…"

Amy came slowly down the steps. "Eat?"

Gillian smiled warmly. "Hi, Baby…yes…Grandma made eggs and bacon…"

"Bacon!" Amy squealed as she raced to Gillian's side.

"She can say bacon clearly…who's kid is she now?" Gillian smiled at Cal.

"What? Everyone likes bacon…"

"You are obsessed with bacon!"

Cal made a face as he looked down at Dalton. "Someone is stinky!"

Gillian grimaced. "Brandon is pretty ripe too…"

Cal stood and held out his empty arm. "Give me him…I'll get them both changed."

"I can help," Gillian offered.

"Nope, feed Amy, you can do the next one!"

Cal went upstairs and Gillian started to feed Amy.

"Mom, Cal's right, I owe you everything. I had no idea how bad I felt until this morning. I feel wonderful!"

"I'm so glad, Honey! Let me get breakfast cleaned up then I'll head home."

"Mom! I'll clean up while Amy is eating!"

Arlene nodded. "Okay," she said then headed up to pack her small bag.

She came down a short time later and said her goodbyes to everyone.

Cal looked at Gillian. "Hey the park was such a hit yesterday why don't we do it again."

"Sure!" Gillian said.

They got ready and spent a leisurely morning at the park. That afternoon the kids were taking naps and Cal and Gillian were on the couch. They were watching a movie and Gillian was surprised she was getting turned on.

She slowly started caressing Cal's leg then leaned up to kiss him. Cal leaned over and kissed her back and Gillian grabbed him and deepened it.

Cal was gasping when he pulled away. "Bloody hell, Gillian!"

"Make love to me, Cal!"

Cal shook his head. "It's too soon, Darling!"

"I'm fine…well…except for wanting you…"

"Gill…I don't think…"

Gillian straddled him and ground her hips against him as she kissed him.

"See, I'm fine!"

They went upstairs and Cal was hovering over her ready to enter when he stopped. "Bloody hell! I don't have a condom!"

"So what!"

"You told me last time you couldn't get pregnant and there are two little guys in there to prove you wrong!"

"Well, now I know I can't get pregnant because I'm nursing…"

"Really?" Cal asked with surprise.

"That's what all the books say!"

Cal groaned and set about making love to her as gently as he could. Both of them fell into a satisfied sleep.

Three months later, Gillian came into Cal's office at work.

"Where are the kids?" she asked quietly.

Cal frowned when he looked up from his monitor. He could tell instantly something was wrong and raced to her side. "Um, Torres has one and Heidi has the other one. Amy is with Loker. Darling, what's wrong? What happened at the doctor's?"

Gillian was frightened of his reaction and hesitated. Big tears pooled in her eyes as she looked at him. "The books were wrong!"

"What books?" Cal asked with confusion as she started to sob. "Bloody hell, Gillian, you're not making any sense, did you get bad news, Luv?"

Gillian coughed as she tried to find her breath. "The ones that say you're protected if you're nursing…"

"What?" Cal asked clearly baffled.

Emily had walked in and overheard everything. "You're pregnant?!"

Gillian nodded as she looked at the shocked expression on Cal's face and started to cry harder. "Cal I am so so sorry…I had no idea…"

Emily laughed happily. "Way to go, Dad!"

"Shut up, Em…" Cal spat as he tried to comfort Gillian. He walked her over to the couch and settled down on it next to her.

Emily frowned at his anger and realized he was scared. She walked over as well. "Gillian is it dangerous for you to be pregnant again so soon…are you okay?"

"Darling?" Cal asked equally as worried.

Gillian glanced at Emily's terrified expression and sniffled. "Oh, Em, I'm sorry I made you worried. The doctor said I'm perfectly healthy and the baby is fine too. She said she wished she had a dollar for every time this happened to one of her patients." She glanced worriedly at Cal. "I just hope your father can forgive me…"

Emily laughed as she stood up. "Give him a minute…he'll get over the shock!"

Emily left and Cal sighed as he lightly grabbed Gillian's chin and made her look at him. "You didn't get pregnant alone; I helped so I am equally responsible for this baby being inside of you. Now…did the doctor really say you're healthy?"

Gillian nodded. "I'm fine Cal, both the baby and I are fine."

Cal "read" her and could see no sign of a lie then slowly a grin appeared on his face. "Wow…we are going to have four kids under the age of four!"

"I know!"

"We are in big trouble!"

"I know!"

Cal kissed her soundly. "So we have about six months to get the twins walking and potty trained?"

Gillian laughed. "Good luck potty training two one year olds!"

Cal was struck with a thought. "Please tell me there is only one in there not two?!"

Gillian was horrified. "I….she said we can find out the sex next month. I assumed that meant there was only one!"

The month flew by and they found out Gillian was carrying a girl.

They told Emily the news after her graduation party.

"Now we get to decide on a name again…" Cal sighed.

"Faith," Emily stated emphatically.

Gillian smiled. "That's a beautiful name but why Faith?"

"The alphabet?"

Cal scowled. "What does the bloody alphabet have to do with anything?"

Emily rolled her eyes. "ABCDEFG….Amy, Brandon, Cal, Dalton, Emily Gillian, you're missing an F….so…Faith!"

Cal shrugged. "That's as good of a reason as anything else!"

"I love the name Faith," Gillian clapped. "My best friend growing up was named Faith."

"Baby Lightman is now Faith Lightman!" Emily gushed.

Six months later, Faith Lightman was born weighing 8 pounds 9 ounces.

Cal and Gillian were on their couch while Amy sat in Arlene's lap reading a book. Gillian's father Dan was there and he and Emily were chasing the twins around the house while Faith was latched onto her mother's breast but staring deeply into her father's eyes.

"Now we truly have it all, Darling," Cal said as he smiled at Gillian.

"We do!"

THE END


End file.
